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Surrendra may sell one bulk carrier

Our Bureau

KOLKATA, JAN 10

SURRENDRA Overseas Ltd, the shipping company belonging to the APJ Group, has before it a proposal to sell by October, APJ Angad, a 27,000-dwt 1977-built bulk carrier.

The sale proceeds may be used to repay a part of the loan that it raised to fund the acquisition of the 75,000-dwt Panamax bulk carrier currently being built at Hyundai shipyard in South Korea.

The vessel is estimated to cost $23 million. The delivery of the Panamax carrier, currently under construction, is due in June this year, it is learnt.

Surrendra Overseas, it may be recalled, sold three of its vessels in the past one and half years. These included APJ Anand (1977-built, 17,000 dwt), APJ Preeti (1977-built 17,000 dwt) and APJ Karan (1977-built, 27,000 dwt).

The company's fleet now consists of five vessels (including APJ Angad), totalling 1,96,000 dwt. These include APJ Shalin (1989-built, 75,000 dwt), APJ Akhil (1989-built, 40,000 dwt), APJ Sushma (1983-built, 27,000 dwt), APJ Anjali (1982-built, 27,000 dw t) and APJ Angad (1977-built, 27,000 dwt).

It might be noted that two of the vessels, APJ Akhil and APJ Sushma are currently deployed on the coastal trade for transporting coal for Poompuhar Shipping Corporation.

Meanwhile Poompuhar, according to informed sources, has floated tender for acquiring one charter, two bulk carriers of 75,000 dwt each for transporting coal from the Paradip port to the Ennore port, which is still under construction.

About 17-18 ships are believed to have been offered in response to the tender.

While Poompuhar wants the ships to be delivered by July, it is not known as yet if the Ennore port will be ready for operation by that time.

There is a question mark also over the probable time of commissioning of the Paradip port's massive mechanised coal handling plant.

After several postponements, the plant is now due for commissioning in the beginning of the next financial year.