• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Santanu Sanyal

Advertisement

Kolkata Feb. 7 Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has received five offers from both Indian and foreign shipyards after it invited bids for acquisition of five anchor handling tugs to facilitate offshore operations of oil companies.

The public sector shipping giant also received technical offers for the acquisition of six super handymax bulk carriers of 57,000-58,000 dwt capacity each.

While for the anchor handling tugs the shipping company will not need government approval, the acquisition of super handymax bulk carriers, for which the PIB clearance has been obtained, await Cabinet approval.

"We would like to double our tonnage to more than 8 million dwt by 2011-12 from the present 4.8 million dwt and, therefore, propose to acquire another 55 vessels (of different types) estimated to cost Rs 15,000 crore by that time," a spokesman for SCI told Business Line.

"While the focus will be on bulk carriers and tankers including gas carriers and chemical carriers, we are also open to acquisition of various other types of vessels including a few container vessels," he said adding, "but then much will depend on the market condition, price of the vessels, international trading pattern in the next few years and various other things including the government clearances."

It might be noted that since October 2005, SCI has ordered 12 vessels including two VLCCs (very large crude carriers, capacity 3,19,000 dwt each) due for delivery in 2008 and 2009, six LR (long range) product tankers (73,000 dwt each) due for delivery in 2010, two container vessels of 4,400-teu capacity each with delivery due in 2008 and two MR (medium range) tankers (47,000 dwt) with delivery due in 2009.

While the Korean yards will build the VLCCs (Daewoo), LR product tankers (STX) and container ships (Hyundai), the Chinese yard (Jingling shipyard of China Changjiang National Shipping Group) will build the MR tankers.

Inorganic growth

SCI's projected future growth, as the spokesman indicated, would not depend solely on the operation of ships. "We would like to see ourselves emerging as a real maritime player providing total logistics services and we're, therefore, exploring parallel avenues of growth, also by pursuing the inorganic route," he said, pointing out that a few joint ventures had already been launched and a few others were in the offing.

"We've joint ventures in LNG transportation with reputed international players, with Forbes Gokak Group for acquisition and transportation of chemical tankers and we've bid for Jawaharlal Nehru port's fourth container terminal in partnership with others and we have before us proposals for floating joint ventures in dredging, shipbuilding and various other operations," he said.

"In fact, we are looking into all kinds of opportunities for growth."

More Stories on : Shipping | Shipping Corporation of India Ltd

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Indian may run Mangalore to Sharjah services soon

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line