A multinational shipping firm that has signed a deal to have its ships built at an Indian shipyard, which is still under construction, has already sold the ships, an indication of growing demand for ocean-going vessels. This is the first time such a thing is happening at an Indian shipyard. The yard, Pipavav Shipyard Ltd, is under construction and will not start building ships before February 2008. On 19 March, the Bermuda-based Golden Ocean Group Ltd.—the dry bulk cargo ship operating firm controlled by Norwegian shipping tycoon John Fredriksen—had placed orders with Pipavav Shipyard to build four Panamax bulk carriers, each with a cargo carrying capacity of 75,000 tonnes. The agreed price of each vessel was $35.5m. The company also placed an "optional" order for two more Panamax vessels.