The Hindu Business Line : SKS in talks with Danish major for dry-dock project

SKS (Ship) Ltd, a major player in the coastal shipping sector, has firmed up plans to set up a Rs 200-crore dry-docking facility at Alibaugh in Maharashtra.

The company is in talks with a Danish dry-docking company to form a joint venture for setting up the project. "We are in the final stages of negotiations with the Danish company and we hope to conclude the agreement within a few days," Mr S.K. Shahi, Chairman and Managing Director of the company, told Business Line.

The company sees a lot of potential in the dry-docking market in this region, as a large number of offshore supply vessels (OSVs) belonging to the Oil and Natural Gas Commission Ltd (ONGC), apart from vessels belonging to the Coast Guard and coastal shipping operators, have to either depend on Mumbai port or overseas yards for their dry-docking needs.

"The waiting period at the dry dock of Mumbai Port Trust is four to six months," Mr Shahi pointed out.

SKS Ship will be setting up a 35-acre dry dock at Mankule village at Alibaugh, with the first phase of the project estimated to cost Rs 10 crore, scheduled to be wrapped up by June 2005.

"In the first phase, the dry-docking facility will cater to small vessels such as barges, while the second phase could service OSV's of up to 4,000 dwt and the third phase vessels of 50,000 dwt," he said.

The company will be adding four new vessels to its existing fleet of 35 barges by mid-2005. "The four vessels of 3,600 DWT each are being built at Goa shipyard at a cost of Rs 7 crore each. One vessel will be deployed in Kutch and one on the Mumbai-JNPT route, while the remaining two will be put into service in Kolkata," Mr Shahi said.

The company, which has moved four million tonnes of cargo along the Indian coast last fiscal, expects to add Rs 2 crore to its bottom-line from these four vessels. The company currently operates from Jamnagar, Mumbai, Goa, Kochi and Kolkata ports.