Asian Age News

India emerges as the world's largest centre of ship-breaking with 415 ships demolished in the ship-breaking yards of Alang in 2011-12. Another 150 giant behemoths, used to ferry millions of tons of goods across the globe but no longer seaworthy, are waiting there to be broken down, informs 'Asian Age'. Pakistan has emerged as the number two ship-breaking country followed by Bangladesh and China, but in the latter country ships are broken in dry docks and not along the coast. Gopal Krishna, heading Toxics Watch Alliance, said, “The number of ships allowed to enter the country are steadily rising because of the lax regulatory climate prevailing here.

India’s largest private shipbuilding company ABG Shipyard Limited has received orders worth over $254.1m to build bulk and anchor vessels for shipping companies based in Egypt and Cyprus. The company has received an order worth around from Cyprus La-mnalco Ltd. for delivery of production support vessel. Another Cyprus-based Precious Shipping Public Company has placed a Rs 726 crore order to build five deadweight tonne bulk carriers. ABG also secured an order worth Rs 181 crores for two anchor handling vessels from Egypt based Maridive and Oil Services SAE. (Source: The Asian Age)

Shipping Corporation of India has floated global tenders for acquiring 11 ships, including two cellular container ships with carrying capacity of 4,300 twenty feet equivalent each, six Handymax bulk carriers of 50,000-58,000 DWT each, and two product tankers. These tenders were part of SCI’s $500 million 14-ship acquisition plan, which is to be spread over the next couple of years. Order contracts for two very large crude carriers of 319,000 DWT each have already been signed 16 weeks ago with South Korea-based Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. The two VLCCs for which contracts have been signed are scheduled to be delivered by October 2008 and September 2009.