Bangladesh Shipbuilding Industries

[alladin212]

Highspeed bags $200m export order to build 8 ocean-going ships FHM Humayan Kabir

Another Bangladesh shipbuilding company hit the jackpot as it will sign a deal with a Dutch company tomorrow (Saturday) to build eight ocean-going vessels at an export order of 200 million dollars, officials said Thursday.

Highspeed Shipbuilding and Engineering Company Ltd, the country's oldest shipbuilder, will sign the deal with Groningen-based Hollander Scholtens (HS) to build 9,000 tonnes capacity eight ships by April 2012.

"We will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Dutch company tomorrow (Saturday) in Dhaka," said managing director of the Narayanganj-based shipbuilder KM Mahmud Ur Rahman.

"As far as I know, this is the single biggest export order for the country," Rahman said.

The country's export data keeper, Export Promotion Bureau, however, could not confirm the statement, as it does not maintain any data of individual order.

Highspeed, the country's oldest shipbuilder specialized in building small riverine cargo and passenger vessels, will be the third company to join the boom in ocean-going shipbuilding industry.

Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Limited based at Meghnaghat and Western Marine in Chittagong have already bagged export orders worth $280 million since the country emerged as a new global destination of shipbuilding last year.

"We'll deliver the ships within three years. The building of the ships will begin in April next year," Rahman said.

The company will now have to upgrade its infrastructure to world-standard, as demanded by the importer, and add modern facilities at its shipyard at Fatullah, Narayanganj in the next nine months before starting shipbuilding jobs.

"We will invest around Tk 1.0 billion for expanding the dry-dock at our shipyard. We will buy another eleven acres of land and procure some modern equipment," he added.

"Some 1000 new jobs will be created when we will start building the ships," Rahman said, adding since 1961 the company has built over 100 small ships for riverine transport, with maximum capacity of 3000 tonnes.

The latest export order came, as Bangladesh has become a new destination for construction of small sea vessels, with an annual market of $400 billion, as traditional shipbuilding nations such as South Korea, Japan and China now focus on large vessels.

Even Vietnam, which is relatively new in shipbuilding, is no longer interested to build ships weighing less than 25,000 tonnes.

An expert said the latest order proves that the country is very much on the path to become a major ship-builder.

"The latest deal will be a huge development in the country's ship-building industry," said C.F. Zaman, Bangladesh head of worldwide ship inspection agency Germanischer Lloyd.

"Highspeed is the oldest shipbuilder in the country. It has the capacity to become a very big player, but it needs a lead-time of at least nine months to upgrade its facilities and add modern equipment," he said.

It was the Germanischer Lloyd, which prompted Ananda and Western Marine to look for international order, offering them technological help to construct ocean-going vessels.

Zaman said another company, Narayanganj Engineering and Shipbuilder, has also started negotiations with Danish and German companies to secure export order.


http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.co...&news_id=28019

[Tmac]

do we really need another thread on the same topic? This news has been posted 3 times already. This thread should have been created in Economy, Business and Investment section. I am going to move it.

[alladin212]

Originally Posted by Tmac

do we really need another thread on the same topic? This news has been posted 3 times already. This thread should have been created in Economy, Business and Investment section. I am going to move it.

didnt see any thread about shipbuilding anywhere except for "dhakadockyeard"(by dhakadockyeard owner i guess)...plus shipbuilding sounds more like infrastructure .....well, i thought it would be ok to post the same news again cause i've seen you posting same pictures over and over in different threads (pictures of bashundhara city, dhaka sheraton etc, and the same news in "Great Achievements by Great Bangladeshis" )

[Tmac]

Originally Posted by alladin212

didnt see any thread about shipbuilding anywhere except for "dhakadockyeard"(by dhakadockyeard owner i guess)...plus shipbuilding sounds more like infrastructure .....well, i thought it would be ok to post the same news again cause i've seen you posting same pictures over and over in different threads (pictures of bashundhara city, dhaka sheraton etc, and the same news in "Great Achievements by Great Bangladeshis" )

really? Sure you can do whatever you want.

[sayem]

Shipbuilding gets big boost





Mushir Ahmed

The government has given 'bonded warehouse' facility to the rapidly growing shipbuilding sector to make it a leading export earner, officials said Wednesday.

Shipbuilders will enjoy the facility like the export-oriented garments manufacturers, which allows them to import raw materials duty free without facing the hassles at the port, a National Board of Revenue (NBR) order said.

The facility would ensure quick clearance of raw materials and avoid messy customs process that sometimes take up three-six months.

"The goverrment has taken the decision to pave the way for faster growth of the new yet increasingly booming industry," the NBR said.

The NBR, however, offered the facility under certain conditions, including inspection of the raw materials by international certification agency so that goods imported free of duty cannot be sold in local market.

The shipbuilers will also have to submit 25 per cent duty to the customs authorities prior to release of their goods and the NBR would reimburse the money once the builders export their ships.

Shipbuilding emerged as a protential export earner in early 2007 when two local shipbuilders announced that they got export orders worth over $150 millions.

In about one year's time export orders jumped to over $350 million with two new players joining in the booming sector.

"The shipbuilders have been demanding the bonded warehouse facility for long. We made a quick decision so that their growth is not hampered," the head of the country's Department of Shipping Mohammad Shafiqullah said.

"They wanted us to make their import of goods and machinery import hassle free and quick. We hope this decision will go a long way in making shipbuilding a major export earner like garments by 2015," he said

Shafiqullah said already three companies have received several hundred dollars of export orders and the latest decision would attrack more entrepreneurs to the potential industry.

Abdullahel Bari, the owner of Ananda Shipbuilders and Slipways, the pioneer in the industry, said the decision would play a crucial role in boosting growth of shipbuilding in the country.

"We have been looking for this green channel facility for long. It will save us at least four months and also ensure safety of our goods and raw materials," Bari said.

"We import some 80 per cent of our raw materials and all machinery from abroad. But customs clearance eats up three-four months. Sometimes some items even went missing from the port," he said.

"I've imported a gantry-crane in January and still I could not clear it after three and a half months," he said.

Bari said the government has also in principled agreed to declare shipbuilding a thrust sector, meaning it will enjoy tax holiday for ten years and enjoy other benefits like any other export-oriented garment factories.

Industry expert and the head of Germanischer Lloyd in Bangladesh C.F Zaman said the facility would cut cost of production and ensure quick delivery of ships.

"In shipbuilding, quick delivery is the ultimate challenge. The bonded warehouse facility will bring a huge relief to the ship builders and cut process costs," Zaman said.

"Bangladesh has all the right ingredients to be a big player in ship building and the latest government decision will quicken that process," he said, urging the government to subsidise the shipbuilders like India.


http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.co...&news_id=30979

[G2G]

Definitely a positive policy from the Govt. The sector should be encouraged at the most.

[Banglabir]

Meghna Group joins shipbuilding boom
Signs deal with Korean STX today
Jasim Uddin Khan


Picture of a ship built by STX Shipbuilding. Photo: STX Shipbuilding website


A local company, Meghna Ship Builders and Dockyard, is to set up a huge US$ 40 million facility to build ocean-going vessels, the move is an example of the country's booming shipbuilding industry.

The company signs an agreement to this effect today with South Korea's STX Shipbuilding Company Ltd to build the shipyard at Meghnaghat in Naryanganj.

The company plans to increase its investment in the shipyard to $100 million within the next couple of months.

Meghna Ship Builders and Dockyard, a concern of Meghna Group of Industries, expects that it will be able to construct four 15,000-tonne ships in the facility a year.

STX Shipbuilding's Vice Chairman Kim Hyun Kyu and Executive Managing Director BH Sim are now in Bangladesh to sign the agreement.

STX, which has expertise in building ocean going oil and chemical tankers, containership, bulk carriers, and LPG carriers, will provide all technical supports for Meghna to construct the shipyard in Bangladesh. Some experts from STX will stay in Bangladesh to offer technology transfer.

The management of Meghna hopes that the company can start its commercial operations within 15 months.

Meghna Group of Industries Managing Director Mostafa Kamal said he hoped his company will bale to bag a good portion of international shipbuilding orders.

Many international buyers have already started negotiations with the company to place orders.

Explaining some features of his company, Mostafa said his company will first introduce the robotic welding facility in Bangladesh as the STX does in Korea.

“It's my vision to make dockyard a safe one,” Mostaf hoped saying the shipyard will introduce automatic painting facility.

Bangladesh's shipbuilding sector is growing. The shipbuilding industry in the country has already received around $300 million orders for constructing ocean-going ships to Europe and South-East Asian countries.

The Western Marine Shipyard and Ananda Shipyard are the major players in domestic market.


jasim@thedailystar.net
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=33363

[amar11372]

Double Post.

[Banglabir]

lol..beat you by 2 mins amar...lol

[amar11372]

Originally Posted by Banglabir

lol..beat you by 2 mins amar...lol

Having some trouble with the internet.

[amar11372]

Two giants enter shipbuilding industry amid boom in orders

Mushir Ahmed

Shipbuilding industry gets a huge boost Tuesday as two of the country's biggest conglomerates announced their entry into the booming sector.

Meghna Group, the commodity to power conglomerate, and Rangs, the real estate to sea-fish giant, said they are going into ocean-going ship-building industry amid boom in orders from the European ship companies.

Meghna, a leading group of companies with a turnover of Tk 40 billion, said it would build the country's biggest shipbuilding yard at a cost of US$35 million (Tk 2.20 billion) with technical help from South Korea's giant shipbuilder, STX Heavy Industries.

"The group will sign an agreement with the STX today to build a state-of-the-art shipbuilding yard and slipways," Afzal Hossain, a general manager of the company, said.

"Already we have huge land at Meghnaghat on the river Meghna. We will initially build 2500 dead weight tonnes (DWT) ocean going bulk carriers for our company and also for European buyers," he said.

STX is one of South Korea's top six shipbuilding giants that have transformed the country into the world's biggest ship manufacturers.

Afzal said Meghna would also procure all its machinery from the STX but it does not have any plan to go into joint venture with the South Korean company.

"Our aim is to build the biggest ship building company in the country. And that's why we are signing technical and machinery deal with one of the top companies in the world," he said.

Rangs Group, which owns one of the oldest shipyards on the river Karnaphuli near the Chittagong Port, has signed a joint venture deal with a local consortium to build ocean going vessels for a big Dutch buyer.

The joint venture is now transforming Rangs' Fisheries Shipyard into a top class ship manufacturing facility, ready to manufacture ships within months, said Abdul Hannan, a general manager of the company.

"We will initially build ships worth 20 million euro ( 30 million dollars) annually for a reputed Dutch shipping company. If we can satisfy the company, it said it would go into joint venture with us within a few years," he said.

The 13-acre Fisheries Shipyard has already built a hydro-graphy ship several years ago, but since then it remained idle, only catering to the repair needs of Rangs; fleet of ocean-going fishing trawlers.

Hannan said the company would buy more land and upgrade the facilities enter massively into shipbuilding.

A leading ship building expert said the latest entries by big companies show how promising the industry is for Bangladesh.

"We knew it would happen. Now we can see how fast it is happening in Bangladesh," said CF Zaman, the head of ship-inspection agency, Germanischer Lloyd, Bangladesh said.

"The arrivals of the two big conglomerates mean a lot to the industry. It will now matter of time before shipbuilding emerges as a billion dollars industry," he said.

The arrival of the two giants was announced just weeks after the government announced bonded warehouse facilities for the shipbuilding companies.

Under the facilities, companies which build ships meant for export will now be able to import machinery and raw materials free of duty and without any hassles at the port.

The government said the facilities would inject a new momentum into the hugely potential export earning sector and create tens and thousands of jobs.

Bangladesh joined the boom in shipbuilding industry early last year when two companies-Ananda Shipbuilding and Slipways and Western Marine-- captured export orders worth 150 million dollars from European buyers.

Experts said buyers have rushed to Bangladesh and other developing countries, which have a network of rivers, after the traditional shipbuilders in Europe and Asia started refusing orders for small ocean going ships.

Top Asian shipbuilders, like South Korea, Japan, China and even Vietnam, are no longer interested to build smaller ships because of poor profit margins.

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.co...&news_id=31549

[amar11372]

This brings a total of 5 International Shipbuilders in BD.

[TIslam]

Wow! As the Brits would say, jolly good!

[manbil777]

^ Things are looking mighty shipshape.

Sorry -- couldn't resist.

On a more serious note, there might be a reason why shipbuilding is popular all of a sudden in Bangladesh.

Massive steel projects are planned both in Bangladesh and also in Orissa India (very close to Bangladesh)-- which are big prerequisites for efficient shipbuilding operations.

There are plans for a massive steel mill in Orissa by POSCO Korea, which is a major input for this industry. POSCO is investing about 10 billion and the project is on and off the burner intermittently.

Tata also has a iron ore processing facility and steel mill on the Orissa Coast. Tata is adding a shipbuilding facility close to its steel mill there.

Indian details in these stories may be important to read as they have massive competition right next door,

http://www.swaminomics.org/articles/20070407.htm

http://www.projectsmonitor.com/detai...sp?newsid=9474

We have to find synergies with Indian shipbuilders and make it a win-win scenario to work together to complement each-other's capabilities.

[amar11372]

State-owned co joins shipbuilding soon

FHM Humayan Kabir

A state-owned company will soon join the newly emerging export-oriented shipbuilding industry that has been witnessing a boom in the country recently.

Dockyard & Engineering Works Limited (DEWL), the country's oldest shipbuilder now being run by the Bangladesh Navy, will develop its existing infrastructure to international standard to lure export orders from overseas buyers, managing director of the company Captain Mahmud Ali said.

"We will enter into joint ventures with experienced local or international shipbuilders to develop our shipyard. We've already requested for expression of interests from several companies for entering into joint venture partnership with us," he said.

"I hope we will be able to do so within a couple of months. Then we will start development of our existing shipyard and bring it to world standard level to acquire ocean-going ship construction orders from the abroad," Mahmud Ali, who is also a captain of Bangladesh Navy told the FE.

The DEWL, established in 1926, is situated in 22 acres of land at Sonakanda in Narayangaj district on the bank of Sitalakhya River.

It has all the facilities for building Ro-Ro Ferry, Tug Boats, Inland & Coastal Vessels, Barges etc. It has also repair and maintenance facilities apart from equipment to produce industrial spares.

The company is well equipped with slipway, workshops having facilities of lathe shear, press, drill, grinding, boring, milling, cranes, forklifts, jack, pulleys etc. The slipway measures 298'X290' with a capacity to dock vessels upto 300 feet in length and dead load of 780 tonnes.

The state-owned DEWL, once operational, will be the seventh company in the country to enter into the booming shipbuilding industry, after the Ananda, Chittagong-based Western Marine, Fatullah-based Highspeed, Meghnaghat-based Khan Brothers and Meghna Group and Karnaphuli-based Rangs Group.

The Khan Brothers, Meghna Group and Rangs Group are now working to set up world standard shipyard to bag international orders of ocean-going ships.

The Ananda, Western Marine and Highspeed Group have already bagged export orders worth nearly $350 million since the country emerged as a new global destination of shipbuilding last year.

Experts said Bangladesh has become a new destination for construction of small sea vessels, with an annual market of $400 billion, as traditional shipbuilding nations such as South Korea, Japan and China now focus on larger vessels.

Even Vietnam, which is relatively new in shipbuilding, is no longer interested to build ships of less than 25,000 tonnes capacity.

"We are confident that after developing our shipyard into international standard we can be able to build ocean-going vessel weighing up to 8,000 dead weight tonnes," Mahmud Ali said.

We already have some expertise to build cargo vessels, repair private vessels, marine ships and build necessary motorised boats of Bangladesh Navy, he said.

The DEWL managing director said a lot of shipbuilding experts, who once used to work in this company, were now working in country's renowned shipbuilding companies like Ananda, Western Marine and High Speed.

Capt Mahmud Ali said: "As the major ship building countries like South Korea, Japan, China, Singapore, India and Vietnam have no spare capacity for taking new orders, the international shipping companies are courcing out new destination. This prospect has prompted us to develop our shipyard for securing some of those orders."

Since DWEL has some modern facilities and also have expert manpower, the enterprise will be bale to able million-dollar export orders from abroad to construct ocean-going vessels, he added.

thefinancialexpress

[G2G]

Looks like everyone wants a share from this sector.

[manbil777]

Here's a couple of quick short overviews of the shipbuilding scenario in Vietnam.

First writeup is by the Danish embassy in Hanoi. In my view Vietnam is slightly ahead of us in shipbuilding in that they are already planning a few hull-builds of 100,000 metric tons and above with several 50,000 ton plus ships under their belts. The reason why Denmark is so eager to spur shipbuilding in Vietnam (and also in Bangladesh) is that it (and other Scandinavian countries) all have big traditions of shipbuilding (design talent, inputs such as slipway equipment) and also large markets (these countries are all separated by massive sea lanes with inclement weather round the year but people and goods need to move around). So low-cost shipbuilding destinations like Bangladesh are a natural partner.

http://www.ambhanoi.um.dk/en/menu/Co...ldingIndustry/

The next is an older article in PDF format but is informative nonetheless.

http://proftech.org/proftech_news.pdf

If we compare their situation with us then I hope it'll open our eyes further.

[amar11372]

Originally Posted by manbil777

Here's a couple of quick short overviews of the shipbuilding scenario in Vietnam.

First writeup is by the Danish embassy in Hanoi. In my view Vietnam is slightly ahead of us in shipbuilding in that they are already planning a few hull-builds of 100,000 metric tons and above with several 50,000 ton plus ships under their belts. The reason why Denmark is so eager to spur shipbuilding in Vietnam (and also in Bangladesh) is that it (and other Scandinavian countries) all have big traditions of shipbuilding (design talent, inputs such as slipway equipment) and also large markets (these countries are all separated by massive sea lanes with inclement weather round the year but people and goods need to move around). So low-cost shipbuilding destinations like Bangladesh are a natural partner.

http://www.ambhanoi.um.dk/en/menu/Co...ldingIndustry/

The next is an older article in PDF format but is informative nonetheless.

http://proftech.org/proftech_news.pdf

If we compare their situation with us then I hope it'll open our eyes further.

Thanks for the articles manbil. After reading it I have some concerns. We are currently maxing at 12,000 DTW while recently Rangs and Meghna are planning to build Dockyard at 15,000-20,000 DWT (which at great). But in Vietnam they already moved from small-mid range ships to 100,000 DTW . Even though the shipbuilding sector is booming, we still have a long way to go.

-By the way the current total Backlog export order for this year alone is at $600 million Dollars. This number has all the potential to grow in the future.

[Tmac]

Ananda wins $67m German order to build four ships

Ananda Shipyard and Slipways yesterday inked a $67 million deal with a German company to supply four ships, a further evidence of the recent boom in Bangladesh's shipyards.

With the deal, the value of total orders fetched by Ananda Shipyard stands at about $217million for building 16 vessels. Ananda will now have to hand over these four ships of 7,100 dead weight tones (DWT) to the German buyer Hermann Lohmann by 2011.

Afruja Bari, managing director (MD) of Ananda Shipyard, and Hermann Lohmann, a director of the German company, signed the deal on behalf of their respective organisations, according to a press release.

"It's a big achievement. Our main goal now is to maintain quality and ensure timely delivery," the Ananda Shipyard MD told The Daily Star yesterday.

Bangladesh has started drawing attention of the global shipping companies amid traditional shipbuilding nations' focus to build large ships. South Korea and China usually build large ships.

Now, industry people said, these countries are reluctant to build small ships.

“It has created a great opportunity for us," Md Saiful Islam, chairman of Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, which has also won orders to build small ships in January 2008.

"The global market for small ships is worth $ 400 billion ," the Western Marine chairman earlier told The Daily Star.

Local shipbuilders have been building ships of global standard since early 2000. Ananda was the pioneer in wining the confidence of international buyers, especially from Europeans, in 2005.

The company is set to handover its first consignment of ships to a European buyer on May 15.

Cost competitiveness, technical know-how, skilled manpower and above all excellent communication skills of Bangladeshi ship builders helped get orders, industry stakeholders said.

The Ananda Shipyard MD said Bangladesh has been able to exploit the benefit of skilled workforce in building ships as some workers, who have working experience in different foreign countries, already came back to their own country.

Stakeholders said, thousands of Bangladeshis are now employed in Singapore, Korea and Dubai shipyards.

Bangladesh is also known for its small shipbuilding industry, which churns out dozens of launches every year. These shipbuilders have set up their construction units at various places such as Narayanganj and Khulna.

Industry people said about 300 small and large shipyards are now in Bangladesh, which employed about 1.0 lakh people.

Abdullahel Bari, chairman of Ananda Shipyard, said his company wants to construct vessels with higher capacity in coming days.

"In future, I wish to make ships of 100,000 dead weight tonnes," he said.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=36119

[TIslam]

Is ship building now adding significant value to Bangladesh economy?