SCI plans to build country's largest shipyard

Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has firmed up plans to build the country's largest shipyard with an investment of around Rs 3,000 crore.

The public sector company would compete with Larson and Toubro, Korean shipping major STX, Essar, Shapoorji Pallonji and Bharti Shipyard for the two shipbuilding projects that the government plans to float. The company is likely to make a formal announcement in this regard in the next six to eight weeks.

The government had earlier proposed to build two shipyards, one on the west coast and the other on the east coast, of international standards. The sites identified by the shipping ministry are Kakinada, Ennore and Tuticorin in east coast, and Mundra and Pipavav in the west coast. These shipyards would be bigger than all the existing facilities in the country.

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Chennai port signs MoU with Belgium

The Chennai Port Trust has signed a fresh memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Port of Zeebrugge (Belgium).

In 1997 the two ports signed an MoU with the intention of cooperating in various fields related to maritime transportation and port development and working together as sister ports. The co-operation extended to all aspects of port activity and transfer of technology between the two ports. At that point of time, both ports laid accent on handling of bulk cargoes such as coal and iron ore. Chennai port in particular will draw on the available expertise in Zeebrugge Port in the field of containers, car carriers and cruise vessels.

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Korea on top position

Korea widened its lead in shipbuilding orders over China in August, cementing its status as the world's top shipbuilding nation, a London-based market researcher said Wednesday (Sept. 26).

Korean shipbuilders such as Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. received a combined 22.1 million compensated gross tons in new orders in August, 3.1 million CGTs more than those won by Chinese rivals, said Clarkson Research Studies.

In the January-April period, China overtook Korea in shipbuilding orders, but Seoul reclaimed the top position in May by obtaining 11.7 million CGTs. According to the market researcher, Korea recorded the largest order backlog of 58.8 million CGTs in the January-August period, followed by China with 44.3 million CGTs and Japan with 30.5 million CGTs. In terms of order backlogs, six Korean companies were among the world's top 10 shipyards, with four Chinese shipbuilders holding the other spots, Clarkson said.

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NOL Shipmanager wins top award

The ship management arm of container transportation and logistics group NOL has received the Excellence in Training Development accolade at the Singapore International Maritime Awards 2007.

Neptune Shipmanagement Services (Pte) Ltd, which is responsible for running the ship fleet of NOL’s container shipping business, APL, received the award at a gala ceremony in Singapore. The awards, which are judged by independent panel, acknowledge the recipients’ excellence and their contribution to the development of Singapore as an international maritime centre.

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Swiber teams up in Vietnam

Singapore-based offshore contractor Swiber Holdings has entered into an agreement with two Vietnamese state-linked companies to jointly explore oil and gas opportunities in Vietnam and overseas.

Swiber said it had signed broad co-operation agreements with PetroVietnam Construction and the Vietsovpetro joint venture. PetroVietnam Construction is a listed subsidiary of state-owned PetroVietnam and provides engineering and construction activities for the oil and gas sector. Vietsovpetro is a joint venture company established in 1981 between the governments of Vietnam and the former Soviet Union.

The three-year agreement will mark Swiber’s entry into the Vietnam market. The company said it hoped the deal would allow the parties to combine resources to bid and execute oil and gas services contracts in the country.

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World Maritime Day 2007

To honour the vital contribution that the shipping industry makes to world trade, the Honourable Company of Master Mariners and the International Maritime Pilots Association in partnership with the International Maritime Organization will jointly host a celebration to mark World Maritime Day on September 27, 2007.

The theme chosen by IMO for World Maritime Day 2007 is IMO's response to current environmental challenges. The celebrations will be held onboard the world maritime heritage ship HOS Wellington in London, the premier maritime city.

The human source changes to the environment are of concern to all. The response of the maritime industry is the major theme of this year's celebrations. The maritime industry is ideally placed to respond to those challenges as it is the most environmentally friendly mode of transportation and has a major role to play in the generation of renewable energy.

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Keppel wins S$100m contract

Keppel Shipyard Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Limited, has been awarded two conversion contracts, worth a total of S$100 million.

The orders are from Prosafe Production Pte Ltd, and Shipping Logistics Incorporated for a long term charter to Perenco S.A. The first contract awarded by Prosafe is for the conversion of a 101,832 dwt double-sided tanker, MT Kudam, into a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility. Subic Shipyard & Engineering Inc (SSEI), an associate of Keppel Shipyard, will carry out the first phase of this FPSO conversion. Keppel Shipyard will undertake the integration of the topside modules and the completion of the conversion work in Singapore. Work on the vessel is expected to be completed by late 2008.

The second contract is for a Floating Storage and Offloading (FSO) conversion for repeat customer, Perenco S.A. For this contract, the 138,105 dwt tanker is to be converted into a FSO unit to be named FSO Kalamu. It will be moored by a soft yoke arm, off the coast of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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