The Hindu Business Line : SCI to invest $3 b to buy 40 ships

Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) plans to invest around $3 billion for acquiring 40 ships to double its tonnage capacity to around 10 million dwt (dead weight tonnes) by 2015.

This excludes the current order book of 29 ships costing $1.6 billion to be delivered by 2012, according to its Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Sabyasachi Hajara. The fleet addition will be similar to the existing ships — 80 per cent tankers and the rest a mix of other ships, including containers.

Mr Hajara said currently, SCI has a capacity of five million dwt, and the order book will add another 2.2 million dwt.

With the new acquisition plans, SCI will add another 3 million dwt to its capacity, he told Business Line.

“We hope to have a capacity of around 10 million dwt by 2015,” he said.

According to Mr Hajara, by 2015, SCI will scrap old ships of up to one million dwt.

From S. Korea

The company will continue to acquire ships from South Korean shipyards. “The Chinese shipyards do not meet our requirements,” he said.

Mr Hajara said currently, the valuation of ships has not come down. “We are not placing the new orders now and will wait for 3-6 months to see the market conditions,” he said.

Funding pattern

Around 80 per cent of funds will be through external commercial borrowings and the balance through internal accruals.

The SCI Chairman said the dry bulk market has crashed and he does not expect any recovery in this sector in the near future. However, the other sector, including containers, has not been affected so far.

Mr Hajara said SCI plans to increase its presence in the Indian Ocean, and focus on the areas of coastal shipping and container feeder services.

There are also plans to lay stress on inland container depots and container freight stations, he said.

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