The Hindu Business Line : Great Offshore to spend $240 m on fleet expansion

Great Offshore Ltd, the new entity that was formed after the de-merger of Great Eastern Shipping, has lined up a capital expenditure programme of $240 million to augment its fleet of offshore support assets.

Mr Vijay Sheth, managing director of the company, said this involved acquisition of four vessels, including two anchor handling tugs and one jack-up rig. The rig, which could cost about $165 million, is expected to join the company's fleet by the last quarter of 2008-09, he said.

Fitting vessels with DP

The company, which has a fleet of 23 offshore supply vessels, is in the process of upgrading some 10 to 12 of these vessels by fitting them with DP (Diagonal Positioning) system to suit the new requirement of ONGC. The oil exploration company recently brought out a tender seeking to contract 36 offshore vessels fitted with DP system and other facilities. As none of the existing fleet of offshore vessels in India has these facilities, ONGC has given Indian shipping companies some time to upgrade their vessels.

Mr Sheth confirmed that the company would be participating in the ONGC tender. At present, about 50 per cent of its revenue from Indian operations come either directly or indirectly from ONGC.

The company reported a net profit of Rs 38.7 crore and income of Rs 127.9 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal. Post de-merger, the new entity is expected to get listed on the stock exchanges by December end.

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