Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, Oct 09, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, Oct 09, 2002 |
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Logistics
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Shipping Double-hull tanker dedicated — Shipyards told to be aggressive in marketing Our Bureau
The 93,000-dwt double-hull tanker, Maharshi Parasuram, which was dedicated to the nation in Kochi on Tuesday. The vessel, built at a cost of Rs 190 crore by Cochin Shipyard Ltd, is the fourth tanker delivered to Shipping Corporation of India and the second in the double-hull series.
KOCHI, Oct. 8 THE Union Shipping Minister, Mr V.P. Goyal, on Tuesday dedicated to the nation the new 93,000 dwt double hull tanker, Maharishi Parasuram, constructed by Cochin Shipyard Ltd for Shipping Corporation of India. The vessel, built at a cost of Rs 190 crore, was constructed in a record time of 25 months. The 237-metre long vessel has 10 cargo tanks with a capacity to carry one lakh cubic metre (cu. m) of crude oil and eight water ballast tanks for carrying 36,000 (cu. m) of seawater The Minister said that CSL should make efforts to improve efficiency and quality of workmanship, including reduction in costs to get more orders from global players. There is going to be a lot of demand for the construction of more ships. Indian yards should also strive to achieve the level of Korean yards as they normally take less time to construct vessels at cheaper rates. He said the yards in the country should adopt aggressive marketing strategies to get more orders. Stress should be given on business development so as to find a place in the cut-throat competitive environment. The Ministry had plans to modernise the facilities in the yards as in the advanced countries to improve quality, he added. Addressing a press conference, Mr Goyal said that there were immense possibilities to bag global orders for ship repairs in view of the high costs in the construction of new ships. More and more ships were becoming old and each user wanted to extend the life of ships as far as possible. The yards in the country had a major role to play in this scenario, he added. Regarding the implementation of the container transhipment terminal at Vallarpadam, the Minister said that irrespective of some small hurdles, everything was on the right track and the project would be implemented at the earliest. The terminal would be built on a BOT basis with a provision of transfer after 30 years. Various players, mainly those in South-East Asia, had shown interest in the project. They insisted that the project would be on BOT basis as the players wanted operational freedom, he said. The port had already floated global tenders in this regard. A time-frame to commence the work of the project would be made only after scrutinising the tenders received for the purpose, he added. Answering a question on disinvestment, Mr Goyal said that he was in favour of disinvestment in every venture, as it would bring in new investment both in technology and money from competent players. ``There is no harm in collaborating with prospective team by making use of their resources for joint initiatives'', he said and added that CSL was waiting for the best offer. The Minister also ruled out total privatisation of major ports in the country, saying that it would be confined only to container terminal operations. Nearly 80 per cent of the terminals all over the world were operated with private participation, he said and adding that the concept of the Government was to become a `landlord port'.
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