Shipping Ministry lists initiatives to mark completion of 100 days of govt

Ministry will come out with a comprehensive ship building scheme which will encourage Indian shipyards to bag foreign shipbuilding orders

On the occasion of the completion of the 100 days of the government, the Government came out with a list of initiatives it has undertaken in the maritime sector.

Cochin Shipyard, a Public Sector Unit (PSU) under the Ministry will be investing Rs 1,200 crore in the construction of a dry dock where LNG carriers will be built. Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) recently floated a tender requisitioning 9 LNG carriers, three of which are to be built in India. These LNG carriers, each of which will cost approximately Rs 1,500 Cr, will be the first of their kind to be made in India.

The Ministry will also be coming out with a comprehensive ship building scheme which will encourage Indian shipyards to bag foreign shipbuilding orders aggressively while also meeting the demands of the Indian ship owners.

Cochin Shipyard will also be undertaking building of dredgers for Paradip Port and the Dredging Corporation of India in collaboration with foreign technology suppliers. The cost of the first dredger is expected to be around Rs 500 Cr. Apart from this, cargo and passenger vessels will also be built by Cochin shipyard for the Inland water transport sector.

India and Bangladesh has formalized a coastal shipping arrangement to boost the coastal movement of vessels between the two countries. A Direct Shipping Service between trade relation between India (Chennai) and Myanmar would also be launched in October, 2014.