Programme Package For Indian Shipbuilding Industry

SMM India, shipbuilding, machinery & marine technology international trade fair in Mumbai, 7 to 9 April 2011

“SMM India 2011 not only provides an international platform for leading-edge maritime technologies and innovation; it also brings together the key decision makers and stakeholders from the maritime sector, especially the shipbuilding industry,” said Mr. G.K. Vasan, Hon’ble Minister of Shipping, Government of India, in his good will message in the run-up to the second SMM India in Mumbai (the inaugural SMM India was in 2009).
 
SMM India 2011 is organised by Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH (HMC), teaming up with the Indian partner Inter Ads Exhibitions Pvt. Ltd., at the Bombay Exhibition Centre (BEC) from 7 to 9 April. It brings together more than 100 exhibitors from all continents to present their latest range of products and services in this emerging shipbuilding country.

India’s shipbuilding industry has been on the fast track for some years, in keeping with the development of the Indian economy as a whole. The ranking of leading shipbuilding nations compiled by Clarkson Research Services Ltd., a London-based market analyst, put India in fourth place following the Big Three China, South Korea and Japan, in terms of number of newbuilding orders (status 1 February 2011). The order books of the Indian shipyards showed 182 ships with a total of 1.863 million cgt (Compensated Gross Tons, a formula agreed by the OECD to take account not only of the gross tonnage of ships, but also the work content for the respective ship type). Most of the newbuildings are bulk carriers of various sizes (73 ships). Orders for 56 ships have been placed by the offshore sector. The rest are made up of various other freighter types. Orders for a total of 18 ships were placed last year, 15 of these by the oil and gas industries.

According to Clarkson Research, the total order book in global shipbuilding at the beginning of February comprised 7,191 newbuildings with 137.7 million cgt. The lion’s share of those is taken by China and South Korea. China is to build 3,061 ships with 52.7 million cgt, and South Korea 1,538 units with 43.7 million cgt. Japanese shipyards had a total order book of 1,096 ships with 21.6 million cgt.

Measured in cgt, China accounted for 38.3% of the global shipbuilding order book at the beginning of February, South Korea 31.7% and Japan 15.6%. They were followed by the Philippines (2.1%), Vietnam (1.4%), India (1.4%) and Brazil (1.3%). The newbuilding orders received in January 2011 were also dominated by China’s shipyards, taking 45 orders out of a total of 64 ships (1.55 million cgt). South Korea took orders for 12 newbuildings (0.36 million cgt) according to Clarkson, and Japan for 1 ship (26,161 cgt).
 
The Government of India is working hard to continue the success story of the Indian maritime industry. The Ministry of Shipping has put together a programme package for promotion of the Indian shipbuilding industry, as G.K. Vasan announced on 4 February 2011 at the Ports and Maritime Investment and Business Conclave organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Chennai (formerly known as Madras). He noted that the package would soon be going before the Cabinet, and added that the Ministry of Shipping was also working on a new policy to promote coastal shipping, which was included in the recently launched Maritime Agenda 2010-2020. That is to involve investments of some EUR 80 billion, according to a report by the Press Trust of India (PTI), India’s leading news agency. The main goals on this agenda are to raise India’s share of the global shipbuilding market to 5% and to increase India’s share of global shipping from the current 6-7% to 9%, and to 15% by 2015. Port capacity is to be increased to 3.2 billion tonnes.
 
SMM India should be an important stage on the way to achieving these ambitious goals. At any rate S.S. Kulkarni, Secretary General, Indian Private Ports and Terminals Association (IPPTA) and a member of the Advisory Council for the Conference, sees the prestigious SMM hallmark as a guarantee that SMM India 2011 will again bring together key decision makers from all segments of the industry and offer ample business opportunities.

The organisers have put together a high-calibre programme for the accompanying two-day conference, under the heading “Indian Shipbuilding and Repairing for the 21st Century”. The various sessions with contributions from leading experts address the current challenges, opportunities and goals for the future, thus contributing to the development of the Indian shipbuilding industry. For further information, please visit the website www.smm-india.com