The Indian National Shipowners’ Association (INSA), a representative body of Indian shipowners including Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and The Great Eastern Shipping Company, has demanded Rs 10,000 crore in soft loans from the government to acquire new assets at a time when ship prices are falling.
“External commercial borrowing has completely dried up,” said S Hajara, INSA president and SCI chairman and managing director, on the sidelines of an industry conference in Mumbai. “Liquidity crunch is a major problem of shipowners worldwide,” he added.
INSA made the demand to the Department of Shipping, which has forwarded it to the finance ministry.
“We are looking for a war chest of at least Rs 10,000 crore,” said Hajara.
Department of Shipping Secretary A P V N Sarma was not available for comment.
Thanks to the ongoing global financial crisis, ship prices have fallen by almost 50 per cent in the dry bulk segment.
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