SCI to acquire 110 ships by 2020

The Shipping Minister, Mr G. K. Vasan, informed Parliament recently that the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) was in the process of purchasing 110 vessels of 5.21 million gross tonnage (GT) at an estimated cost of Rs 27,668 crore in the next 10 years, Exim News Service reports.


In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Mr Vasan said, “SCI is likely to place orders for 26 vessels by 2011-12.”


“After acquisition of the vessels, SCI’s total tonnage would go up to about 7.21 million GT by 2020,” the Minister estimated.
Mr Vasan further updated that SCI had placed orders for 36 vessels till date, as against the purchase target of 62 vessels in the 11th Five-Year Plan, which includes acquisition of one resale vessel. “Of these, five vessels have been delivered while others are being built in different Indian, Chinese and South Korean shipyards, he disclosed.


At present, SCI has a fleet of 78 vessels of various types, having a total 3.19 million GT and carrying capacity of 5.61 million DWT.
The Minister said that SCI had shipped a total cargo of 23.08 million tonnes plus 1.27 lakh TEUs during the first nine months of the current fiscal.
(Source:http://www.transportweekly.com)