Four submit bids for Sandheads project

Our Bureau

NEW DELHI, Dec. 13

FOUR bidders have submitted their technical and financial bids for the floating storage off-loading (FSO) project planned by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) at Sandheads near Haldia.

Domestic shipping majors Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Great Eastern Shipping Co Ltd (GESCO), Essar Shipping Ltd and Saipem of Malaysia have submitted their bids on December 7, Government sources said.

SCI has submitted its bid along with Single Buoy Moorings Inc of Singapore, GESCO has entered the fray with Teekay Shipping of Canada while Essar has joined hands with Fred Olsen of Norway to bid for the project.

While all the four bidders have cleared the technical specifications stipulated by the IOC for the project, the price bids are expected to be opened in the next few months.

Under the innovative plan, big crude carriers would come and off-load the crude cargo into the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) moored at Sandheads as an FSO from where it would be further evacuated through dedicated daughter vessels ferrying between Sandheads and Haldia.

In its tender, IOC had asked the bidders to quote the per tonne landed cost of fuel oil at Haldia.

This means the bidders will have to quote the consolidated rate for per tonne landed cost of fuel oil from Sandheads to Haldia comprising the costs for VLCC, daughter vessels,lightergae,towage and tugs.

Crude tankers bound for Haldia are now anchored at a suitable place in the mid-sea, due to draft restrictions for bringing bigger vessels to Haldia Port, from where the crude is off-loaded through smaller vessels.

The FSO project is expected to improve the crude cargo throughput handled at Haldia Port,bringing much-needed extra revenues.