Pipavav building 1st Panamax vessel for Greece

Pipavav Shipyard in Gujarat will deliver its first Panamax vessel to a Greek firm by March next year.

The vessel has been ordered by Bermuda-based Golden Ocean, which has ordered a total of six vessels from Pipavav.

Pipavav, promoted by SKIL Infrastructure and Grevek Investments, has orders for 26 Panamax small carriers (aggregating 74,500 DWT) worth $1.1 billion (about Rs 430 crore).

Punj Lloyd, which acquired a 25 per cent stake, is now a co-promoter on the company's board.

Ray Steward, chief executive officer, Pipavav Shipyard, said, "Our order book is full at about $1.1 billion. None of these are from the domestic market. Indian ship owners have traditional relationships with foreign companies. Once our ships enter the market we will get orders from domestic customers."

AVGI Maritime, another Greek shipping company, has placed orders for 16 Panamax vessels and Setaf of France has ordered four. They will be delivered between 2009 and 2012.

Steward said that the Shipping Corporation of India had recently floated a tender for four Panamax vessels and Pipavav was the only applicant so far.

Pipavav can build vessels of up to 4,00,000 dwt. The yard utilisation stands at about 60-70 per cent, Steward said.

The company plans to invest around Rs 2,800 crore for a shipyard complex at Pipavav that will enable it to also undertake ship repairs and construction of offshore platforms, rigs and jackets for oil and gas exploration and production companies.

It proposes to part-finance Rs 1,248.67 crore (including premium) through equity already issued and Rs 935.20 crore through term loans from banks and financial institutions.

It could consider entering the capital market for remaining funding requirements. The company also aims to undertake ship building for the navy.