Shipyard in Developing Country Making Impact

Bangladesh Shipyard hands over two ships to German owners, has more European orders on the books

Bangladesh Shipbuilding Company Western Marine Shipyard Limited has delivered two more ships to German owners setting a milestone in the country’s shipbuilding industry.

The delivery is the fourth pair of ice class ships built by Western Marine for the German buyer Grona Shipping. This project is believed to be the highest in value in Bangladesh shipbuilding industry.

“This is the first time that a Bangladeshi shipyard hands over six ships in a row to a single owner,” said Western Marine Chairman Saiful Islam at the handing over ceremony at Chittagong Boat Club, Patenga.

The EMSWATER & EMSFLOW are 5200 DWT MPC ships certified as E3 ice-class vessels designed & equipped to sustain in cryogenic weather condition. Around 1500 tonnes of ice-class steel were fabricated by using 60 tonnes of welding electrodes to build each ship while 23 kilometres of marine cables and 24,000 litres of paints were used for her skin protection.

Western Marine has emerged as a top local ship exporter in recent years, leading to keep major contribution to the national revenue.

Currently, the shipyard holds new building projects worth some millions. They are building 5 X 4100 DWT ice-class container vessels for Stella Shipping, Denmark and a RORO ferry for a Danish owner.

Numerous ships for port use, fishing trawlers, tankers, cargo carriers for inland and coastal use are in progress.