Exim News Service reported that shipbuilding companies in the country which are in the doldrums now because of the global economic meltdown that has whittled down orders for newbuildings have begun to focus on repairs in a big way.
Since newbuilding orders for bigger ships are drying up, major players are accepting orders for smaller vessels which they shunned earlier. This trend is expected to hurt smaller players, who will find it vital to service repairs, even though it’s a whole new ballgame.
One shipbuilder explained that "Shipbuilding and repairs go hand in hand and depending on various factors, profit margins here are slightly higher. However, repairs cannot be everyone’s cup of tea. Unlike earlier days, it has become more professional.”
The emergence of Dubai as a ship repair hub may also pose tough competition to domestic repairers, one consultant believed.
Mr Sahay Raj CMD of the Bhavnagar based Shoft Shipyard said that "We are going to concentrate on auxiliaries and repairs in a big way.” He added that as an experienced shipbuilder and repairer, it knows both the segments well. It also hopes to tap into the conversion market where ships, especially tankers are reworked for the offshore industry.
According to estimates, about 10 vessels were converted into offshore supply vessels during 2008-09.
Mr K Chidambaram of Chidambaram Shipcare has been serving foreign navies for quite some time now said that "Naval ships are another area of great opportunity for repairs.” He said that "Naval ship repairs are more complex and require more sophisticated technology and expertise. Very few Indian naval ships now go abroad for repairs or upgradation they all are being carried out here.”
Around 2,000 people are directly employed in ship repairs today. In the 50’s and 60’s, India was a leading destination of ships for repairs and some of its dockyards, for example, in ports like Kolkata and Mumbai, were known for their excellence in workmanship.
China took over the mantle of world leadership in repairs with its labor becoming more competitive even as India lost out because its labor grew largely non competitive. However, just like other maritime industry segments, the ship repair industry also suffers from lack of government support.
(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/20/MTE2Njgw/Indian_shipyards_concentrating_on_repairs.html)
Monday, October 19, 2009
Indian shipyards concentrating on repairs
0 comments:
Post a Comment