Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) will add 29 vessels to its fleet by 2012, entailing an investment of over Rs 6,000 crore, the government said today.
The acquisition is part of the shipping major's ambitious expansion plan under which it will place orders for 33 vessels by March 2012.
"The ships being acquired by SCI would be predominantly used for catering to import/export trade of India. Some of the vessels would also participate in global trade depending on opportunities available," Shipping Minister G K Vasan told the Rajya Sabha today.
Apart from enhancing the capacity of SCI, the new ships would also replace the vessels scheduled for phase out at the end of their economic life.
As per the 11th Plan vessel acquisition programme, SCI has planned for acquisition of 62 vessels for about Rs 13,500 crore, of which till date SCI has been able to order 29 vessels.
Of the ordered 29 vessels, 26 will be delivered to SCI during the next 2 years while it has received the possession of three. The vessels ordered include product tanker, crude oil carrier, bulk carrier, supply carrier, anchor handling vessels etc.
More From This Section
SCI at present owns 76 ships of 5.1 million Deadweight Tonnage (DWT), besides manning 60 vessels of 0.2 million tonnes DWT. The present acquisitions would add another 1.7 DWT to the existing fleet.
It plans to take its capacity to 12 million DWT by acquiring vessels. DWT is the total weight of the ship, including the cargo, crew and fuel.