Bangladesh Shipbuilding Industries

[British-Bangladeshi]

Shipbuilding as a most potential manufacturing sectors: Muhith

Finance Minister AMA Muhith Saturday identified shipbuilding as a most potential manufacturing sectors and said emphasis should be given to these sectors.

"Shipbuilding, furniture and toy sectors are our future assets that should be given due emphasis apart from conventional sectors like Readymade Garments (RMG), jute and frozen fish," he said while inaugurating a shipyard in Munshiganj.

Khan Brothers Shipbuilding Ltd (KBSBL), one of the local shipbuilders, built the shipyard, biggest in the country, at a cost of Taka 150 crore on the bank of the Meghna in Hosendi union of Gazaria upazila.

On another issue, he said the ruling government added 3,000-megawatt of electricity to the national grid. “The power crisis of the country will be resolved by 2014,” he hoped.

Addressing the function industries minister Dilip Barua said, “The will formulate a policy for the industry by next June and Munshiganj will be declared as ship building zone.”

The industries minister told his audience that the government would not establish any industry rather they would provide help the private sector in this regard.

Industries Minister Dilip Barua, Danish ambassador in Bangladesh Svend Olling, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and industry (FBCCI) AK Azad, former president of Supreme Court Bar Association Barrister Amirul Islam spoke at the ceremony as special guests.

On the recommendations made by the FBCCI president, Muhith said tax policies would be made more business-friendly side by side problems due to shortage of electricity would be addressed within next two years.

Referring to the comment of a business leader, the FBCCI chief said keeping money with the banks is now more profitable than making investment.

"The shipbuilding has the potentials to contribute 20 billion US dollars to the economy if it is nurtured properly by providing policy support."

http://news.priyo.com/business/2012/...-ma-47522.html

[British-Bangladeshi]

FMC Shipyard draws orders worth Tk 4.0 billion

Almost invisibly, FMC Group, a shipyard outside the port city of Chittagong, has now appeared to be one of the country's largest shipbuilders exclusively with indigenous expertise without architectural support from the global traditional ship building industries.

Friends Multi Trade Company started its journey as a ship repairing yard of foreign ships on 80 bighas of land at West Gumdandi area under Boalkhali Upazila on the south bank of the Karnafuli River a decade ago.

The FMC Shipyard has emerged amazingly over a decade of time to be one of the most prestigious shipbuilders of the country having acquired orders for making oil tankers, deck-loading barges, cruise, dredger and fishing trawlers worth several billion Taka.

Currently, the FMC Group has orders for building 11 oil tankers for a local company, four fishing trawlers, four dredgers and two barges, company sources said.

Managing Director of the FMC Group Mohammad Yasin Chowdhury said, "We have received orders for building 11 oil tankers from a local company. Works for building the vessels are going on in full swing and we hope to deliver at least five oil tankers to the company by June/July this year."

He said the rest six oil tankers are expected to be delivered to the owner by the first quarter of next year, he said.

He said that the FMC Shipyard started its journey as a ship repairing venture of foreign vessels in the year 1999.

"Having acquired technical know-how from repairing of those vessels and having trained abroad in the long 11 years of working our engineers and technical hands are now well equipped to make ships of global standard without hiring experts from the European and Scandinavian countries," Yasin Chowdhury said.

He said that they made a huge investment for procuring 80 Bighas of land for the shipyard on the south bank of the River Karnafuli in the year 2009. It took them one and a half year to set up the shipyard when the ship building started in the beginning of 2011.

MV Mahirah, a highly sophisticated passenger vessel built by FMC Shipyard is now being operated by private tourism company Green Channel from last January. The ship will basically operate in the Saint Martins Island.

Although the ship has a 200-passenger holding capacity it has been made to accommodate 60 high-deluxe tourists with all modern amenities, he said adding that the cruise ship has been designed for the foreign tourists of the country.

A suction dredger made by the FMC Shipyard has joined the capital dredging of the Chittagong Port with the Malaysian dredging company.

Pankaj Datta, General Manager (Corporate Affairs) of the FMC Group, said they have secured order from an Australian company to build a research vessel at the cost of Tk 150 million. The ship will be used for soil research in the Bay of Bengal, he said adding that it will be delivered to the buyer within December 2012.

The shipyard has also secured orders for two deck-loading barges at Tk 50 million each and four modern fishing trawlers at the cost of Tk 1.50 billion, he said adding that the ships have undergone classification through world famous class society Registro Italiano Navale (RINA).

http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.co...ate=2012-03-14

[British-Bangladeshi]

Western Marine delivers two more ships to German buyer

Western Marine Shipyard yesterday set yet another milestone in the country's shipbuilding history by delivering the last two vessels of an order the shipbuilder won from a German buyer in 2008.

The two ice class cargo vessels -- EMSWater and EMSFlow -- made by the local company at Tk 80 crore each were handed over to the German buyer, Grona Shipping GmbH, at a ceremony at Chittagong Boat Club in Patenga.

The ship builder signed a contract with Grona Shipping in November 2008 for making eight ice class vessels.

Commerce Minister GM Quader was the chief guest at the function. Vice Chairman of Export Promotion Bureau Shubhashish Bose, Dutch Ambassador to Bangladesh Alphons Hennekens, German Deputy Head of Mission Dr Ralf Reusch, FBCCI President AK Azad and The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam were special guests.

Each of the vessels has a capacity of 5,200 deadweight tonnage and cruising speed of 12 nautical miles per hour.

The minister said he would take steps to implement the government's decision to launch a refinancing fund worth Tk 200 crore to offer loans to the shipbuilders at a single-digit interest rate.

He said another Tk 200 crore was supposed to be added to this amount for the shipbuilding sector.

Quader congratulated Western Marine for bringing pride for the country by making ice class vessels for a very technologically developed nation like Germany.

He also thanked Markku Vedder, the representative of the German owner of the ships, for their confidence in a Bangladeshi company.

Bangladesh has got an advantage over its competitors due to low production costs and cheap labour in the country, the minister said.

Shubhashish Bose of the EPB said the government has identified shipbuilding as a thrust sector in the current export policy due to its immense export potential and prospect of substantial growth.

Although shipbuilding started commercial journey in 1960s, exports of ocean-going vessels to high-end markets such as Denmark started in 2008, competing with the Chinese and Vietnamese shipbuilders.

Export earnings from ships, boats and floating structures were worth $12.73 million in fiscal 2008-09, $9.34 million in 2009-10, and $40.44 million in 2010-11, Bose said.

German Deputy Head of Mission Dr Ralf Reusch said shipbuilding has become a booming sector in Bangladesh with more than 400 percent growth in export from 2010 to 2011.

He hoped, by 2015 the shipbuilding industry will contribute 4 to 5 percent to the national gross domestic product.

Reusch said Germany has been the second largest export market for Bangladesh for many years, mainly for readymade garments, jute products and leather goods.

As an export-oriented country, Germany relies heavily on ships as a means of transporting goods, he said, adding that cooperating with the German shipping companies offers tremendous opportunity for Bangladeshi shipyards.

Markku Vedder thanked the shipbuilder to deliver the eight ships in time, which he said would not be possible in Europe, India or China.

Vedder also said the previously delivered six ships are giving good service.

The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam said Western Marine began its journey with a pride for the country; then they acquired knowledge, which gave them skill and ability to perform and thus they achieved confidence of their buyer.

He said many people talk about the image of Bangladesh.

“But we should worry about performance at first, and image will follow,” he added.

Chairman of Western Marine Saiful Islam said they are now building passenger ferries for Denmark.

After 50 years the Danish Maritime Authority allowed ship owners in Denmark to build passenger vessels outside the country and they have chosen Bangladesh.

“Two months back we have delivered two passenger ferries to Karachi Port,” he said.

Western Marine Managing Director Sakhawat Hossain and Bank Asia Managing Director Md Mehmood Husain also spoke.

http://news.priyo.com/business/2012/...-mo-48586.html

[British-Bangladeshi]

Ananda Shipyard delivers vessel to German buyer today

Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Ltd will hand over Enzian, an oceangoing multi-purpose vessel, to German company Komrowski Maritim Gmbh.

The 110.9-metre long and 16.5-metre wide ship is the largest ever locally built ship for export, Ananda said in a statement.

Ananda will hand over the Tk 100 crore ship with a capacity of 6,100 deadweight tonnage. The company has spent Tk 86 crore to build the ship.

Commerce Minister GM Quader will be present as the chief guest at a handover ceremony at Meghnaghat in Narayanganj today.

Afruja Bari, managing director of Ananda Shipyard, focused on the shipbuilding industry at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity.

Abdullahel Bari, chairman of Ananda Shipyard, was also present at the conference.

Bangladesh started exporting oceangoing ships in 2008, and Ananda was the first local company to export its first vessel to Europe, to a Danish company.

At present, Ananda, Western Marine, Highspeed Shipbuilding, Dhaka Dockyard and Engineering Works, Khan Brothers Shipbuilding and Karnaphuli Shipyard are the leading shipbuilders that make ocean-going ships for international buyers.

These companies have received export orders of world-class seagoing vessels, both small and medium, worth $478 million with a deadline to deliver those by 2013, according to Export Promotion Bureau data.

News Source:
Daily Star

[British-Bangladeshi]

Bangladesh will get more ship orders: minister

International recognition that Bangladesh has earned so far through building high-quality ocean-going vessels will help bring in more global orders boosting export earnings, Commerce Minister GM Quader said yesterday.

“Time will come when we'll have huge global orders in the shipbuilding sector," he said.

"The government will provide support to capacity building in the sector,” Quader said at a function at Meghnaghat.

The minister said the country could earn $2 billion through ship exports in the next five years if the government provides policy support.

Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Ltd arranged the function to hand over Enzian, an ocean-going multipurpose vessel, to German company Komrowski Maritim GmbH.

German Ambassador Holger Michael, Ananda Shipyard Chairman Abdullahel Bari and Managing Director Afroza Bari also spoke.

Speaking as the chief guest, Quader said the country must increase export earnings for a stronger economy and shipbuilding will be a medium for that.

“This is a sector which is going to flourish…by building an ice-class ship and supplying it to a technologically advanced country like Germany, Bangladesh has proved that it can compete with any other shipbuilding nation,” he said.

The minister also emphasised maintenance of delivery schedule to earn buyers' satisfaction and avoid financial losses for any delay in delivery.

The government has taken the initiative to set up a special zone for further development of the shipbuilding industry, he said.

German Ambassador Holger Michael highly appreciated the standards and quality of Bangladeshi shipyards and the vessels built in the yards. “We're partners in technology and we're partners in development.”

“Germany is one of the trading countries where 40 percent trade is done by ship, which means Bangladesh is our very important partner,” he added.

“If we can maintain the quality and receive government support, the shipbuilding sector will make Bangladesh a rich nation,” Bari said.

Afroza Bari said Bangladesh could earn $10 billion in 10 years from the shipbuilding sector if the country can utilise the potential. “It will also generate employment opportunity for around 15 lakh people.”

She sought 15 percent cash incentive to enable the prospective sector to grow further.

Enzian, which means `loyal friend' in German language, is 110.9 metres long and 16.5 metres wide. The company has spent Tk 86 crore to build the Tk 100 crore ship with a capacity of 6,100 deadweight tonnage (DWT).

Bangladesh has been exporting ocean-going ships since 2008, and Ananda Shipyards was the first local company to export its first vessel to Europe, specifically to a Danish company.

News Source:
The Daily Star

[manbil777]

For Arfa and Afza: KPT launches two ferryboat services
By Our Correspondent
Published: February 13, 2012



The two ferries can carry up to 200 passengers each. PHOTO: NNI

KARACHI: The occasion seemed to mark a different set of emotions for the people present at the dock. For the minister, it seemed to be proof of the good work undertaken by his department. For one father, however, it all came down to memories of his 16-year-old daughter.

Federal minister for ports and shipping, Babar Khan Ghauri, unveiled the plaque marking the inclusion of two ferryboats, Arfa Karim (named after the late child prodigy) and Afza Altaf (named after MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s daughter) at the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) on Sunday.

“I feel really proud. What else can I say,” was all Amjad Karim Randhawa, Arfa’s father, could manage. He had flown to Karachi with his wife for the occasion.

The boats were purchased from Bangladesh’s Western Marine Shipyard at a cost of $4.6 million as it was the cheaper option.

While originally bought to ferry KPT employees between Keamari and Manora, KPT chairman Aslam Hayat said that the public will also be able to use the 200-passenger boat for commuting to Baba, Bhit and Salehabad islands. “This service will be free of charge,” he added.

Ghauri also compared the performance of departments under his ministry, including KPT, Port Qasim Authority and Pakistan National Shipping Corporation, which have all reported profits, with those of money-haemorrhaging public entities such as PIA, Pakistan Railways and Pakistan Steel Mills.

Randhawa said that his daughter reflected some of her desires into a poem she wrote. “One of them was to become a fish, so that she could swim in the water. I think that one has been granted today.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13th, 2012.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/335585/f...boat-services/

[manbil777]

Ananda Shipyard launches largest locally made ship (Enzian) for German company.

http://www.hawker.com.bd/news_detail...news_id=147478

[Equinox2]

The shipbuilding industry does look very promising. Does anyone know if it's possible to invest in these companies?

[TIslam]

Although a dated article, nonetheless, quite relevant:

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news...211_63043.html

[British-Bangladeshi]

Western Marine building 6 deep sea trawlers

Western Marine Shipyard is constructing six fishing trawlers for deep sea fishing.

Under a joint venture with Fishers Shipyard Ltd, the shipyard has designed the trawlers capable of mid-sea trawling and sustainable in sea state-4 and they will be able to cope with the rough weather in the Bay of Bengal where our fishing trawlers operate.

Four trawlers of 41- metre length will cost Tk 230 million each and two others of 42- metre will cost Tk 280 million each. JK Group has ordered for four trawlers while QNS Group ordered for two. They will be built under the supervision of French classification society Bureau Veritas.

WMS press release said it inaugurated construction work of the trawlers yesterday. Such trawlers used to be imported from China and Thailand in the past. Technological development and initiatives by Western Marine and Fishers Shipyard will now save huge amount of foreign currencies on account of fishing trawlers.

Principal officer of Mercantile Marine Department Captain Habibur Rahman was present as chief guest in the ceremony while chairman and managing director Saiful Islam and Shakhawat Hossain respectively spoke on the occasion. Senior officers of the United Commercial Bank, financial partners of the project, were present.

News Source:
Financial Express

[tislam84]

Great to see that our shipbuilders are being kept busy by both local and foreign companies!

[tislam84]

Bangladesh made RORO ferry sails for Denmark next month

Monday, 07 May 2012 Author / Source : STAFF REPORTER

Chittagong, May 6: Western Marine Shipyard -- the country’s top shipbuilder-- has built ‘RORO’ ferry for the first time for international market, says a press release.

The company officially launched the ferry built at a cost of more than Tk 36 crore or 360 million on Saturday. The ship named ‘ISEF JORD’ will be owned by Danish ferry operator Hundested Rorvig Faergefart. The ferry is expected to be handed over to the owner on June 2012.

The project of building RORO ferry has been launched under the French classification society Bureau Veritas (BV). To this effect, Western Marine signed an agreement with Hundested Rorvig Faergefart, Denmark, for building the 50M ferry on February, 2011.

Denmark has a huge global fame in building the best quality ferries. In-fact, several inland ferries being used in Bangladesh were imported from Denmark.
But now time has changed as Bangladesh is going to export ferries to Denmark. So, with the launch of the project, new chapter for the shipbuilding industry of Bangladesh has just begun.

Western Marine was nominated for this project by the Danish Maritime Authority (DMA), which is known for maintaining and following the stringent maritime safety rule in the world.

http://www.theindependentbd.com/busi...ext-month.html

[tislam84]

Shipbuilders get 12-year tax rebate facility

Jasim Khan

The government has offered a 12-year tax rebate facility to the local ship building industry to help the latter flourish and earn foreign exchange in greater volume.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) recently approved the facility at its latest board meeting.

Under the facility, listed shipbuilders will have to pay only 5.0 per cent corporate tax while the rate will be 10 per cent for non-listed ones.

The decision was taken following repeated requests made by the ship building industry leaders so that the industry could grow at a faster pace when the global economy especially that of Europe is in deep financial crisis.

The government hopes that the tax rebate will help the shipbuilding industry to grow at a faster pace, creating 1.5 million additional jobs and earning US$ 2 billion from export of ships by 2015.

The association of export-oriented shipbuilding industries, Bangladesh (AEOSIB) has been requesting the government to allow the industry to pay five per cent tax for 15 years. But the NBR has decided to offer five per cent tax facility for listed shipbuilder. The country at the moment has no listed shipbuilding company.

The NBR board decided that as the officials are busy in formulating the budget for the next fiscal the gazette in connection with tax rebate to shipbuilders will be issued after the presentation of the budget.

AEOSIB President Abdullahel Bari last month claimed that if the government provided necessary fiscal concessions to the shipbuilding sector Bangladesh could emerge as the third largest shipbuilding nation in the world.

In a written proposal to the government, Bari said currently the entire global manufacturing capacity of ship is about 7500 which will rise by 10,000 by 2015. "The traditional shipbuilders will come to new builders like Bangladesh in the coming years to meet the rising demand for ships," he added.

He also said the country's 10 large shipbuilding companies at present have received orders for about 42 ships worth US$600 million.

He expressed the hope that if the present trend continues the export earning from the sector would reach $2.0 billion by next five years.

About export potentials, commerce minister GM Quader told the FE that the country could easily earn $2.0 billion through ship exports in the next five years.

The government has taken initiative to set up a special zone and wants to offer an incentive package for further development of the shipbuilding industry, he said.

The international recognition that Bangladesh has earned so far through building high-quality ocean-going vessels would help bring in more global orders boosting export earnings, GM Quader said.

"This is a sector which is going to flourish…by building an ice-class ship and supplying it to a technologically advanced country like Germany, Bangladesh has proved that it can compete with any other shipbuilding nations," he said.

The minister also emphasised the need for sticking to the delivery schedule to earn buyers' satisfaction and avoid financial losses for any delay in delivery.

Earlier, Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute (BFTI) in one of its research findings said that the country's shipbuilding industry could become the third largest foreign exchange earner in less than ten years if the government provides support relating to bank guarantees, access through green channels and declares export-oriented shipyards as export processing zones (EPZs).

However, the study said bank guarantee constitutes a very significant portion of the total project cost saying the local shipbuilders are paying approximately 7.6 per cent of the total contract value for obtaining bank guarantees.

"If the government could provide bank guarantee through the Bangladesh Bank, this cost could be reduced significantly," the report added.

AEOSIB President Abdullahel Bari said the cost of building a medium sized ship is about $20 million. Barring the cost of labour and the shipyard's profit, all money goes abroad for buying steel plates, machineries and equipment, he added.

Imported materials and accessories such as steel pipes, sanitary equipment, furniture, doors, windows, engines, power generators, switchboards, transformers, upholstery and many more things can be easily produced locally.

However, to guarantee the quality of product an "approval of manufacturing" from an International Ship's Classification Society is required.

Approval of welding shop and design approval of some equipment can be done in consultation with local representatives of International Classification Society.

http://thefinancialexpress-bd.com/mo...ate=2012-05-12

[everywhere]

I think Bangladeshi shipbuilders should consider raise additional money through IPO.

I wonder if any of these shipbuilders are already listed in the stock markets of Bangladesh?

[manbil777]

Originally Posted by tislam84

Bangladesh made RORO ferry sails for Denmark next month

Monday, 07 May 2012 Author / Source : STAFF REPORTER

Chittagong, May 6: Western Marine Shipyard -- the country’s top shipbuilder-- has built ‘RORO’ ferry for the first time for international market, says a press release.......

The ferry is expected to be handed over to the owner on June 2012.

The project of building RORO ferry has been launched under the French classification society Bureau Veritas (BV). To this effect, Western Marine signed an agreement with Hundested Rorvig Faergefart, Denmark, for building the 50M ferry on February, 2011.
.........

http://www.theindependentbd.com/busi...ext-month.html

here's the news article -- it is indeed strange that at one point we did not have the organization and infrastructure to build something as basic as this...the ferry however at 150 feet is pretty large.

‘RORO’ ferry Isef Jord floats on Karnafuli

here's a detailed design (by Normann Marine Denmark)

It is similar to and a smaller version of the Seattle ferries I've traveled on.

[everywhere]

Originally Posted by British-Bangladeshi

Western Marine building 6 deep sea trawlers

Western Marine Shipyard is constructing six fishing trawlers for deep sea fishing.

Under a joint venture with Fishers Shipyard Ltd, the shipyard has designed the trawlers capable of mid-sea trawling and sustainable in sea state-4 and they will be able to cope with the rough weather in the Bay of Bengal where our fishing trawlers operate.

Four trawlers of 41- metre length will cost Tk 230 million each and two others of 42- metre will cost Tk 280 million each. JK Group has ordered for four trawlers while QNS Group ordered for two. They will be built under the supervision of French classification society Bureau Veritas.

WMS press release said it inaugurated construction work of the trawlers yesterday. Such trawlers used to be imported from China and Thailand in the past. Technological development and initiatives by Western Marine and Fishers Shipyard will now save huge amount of foreign currencies on account of fishing trawlers.

Principal officer of Mercantile Marine Department Captain Habibur Rahman was present as chief guest in the ceremony while chairman and managing director Saiful Islam and Shakhawat Hossain respectively spoke on the occasion. Senior officers of the United Commercial Bank, financial partners of the project, were present.

News Source:
Financial Express

I think Bangladeshi firms should form partnerships with Chinese, Singaporean, Indian, Korean, Turkish, Taiwanese and Japanese shipbuilders and engineering firms to further expand and upgrade your country's shipbuilding and marine engineering capabilities.

[manbil777]

Originally Posted by everywhere

I think Bangladeshi firms should form partnerships with Chinese, Singaporean, Indian, Korean, Turkish, Taiwanese and Japanese shipbuilders and engineering firms to further expand and upgrade your country's shipbuilding and marine engineering capabilities.

Good Call...

Where are the Filipino Shipyards as far as the market?

I thought they were building niche high-priced items like aluminum alloy yachts and catamarans for the Australian market?

Some sub-contacting for INCAT as well?

[manbil777]

Three Youtube videos posted in the last few hours re: recent shipyard activity from a smaller cable TV channel in Bangladesh (sorry Bengali only and no subtitles, but the images should say something). The resolution is pretty high (High Def 1024P).

Video1

Video2

Video3

[iftikhar63]

Thanks for your video sharing.

[manbil777]

Originally Posted by iftikhar63

Thanks for your video sharing.

You're welcome Iftikhar.

Shipbuilding is bound to become the next exports boom story in this country after garments.

That promised boom was supposed to be footwear (say starting around mid nineties) but of course the arrival of the Chinese manufacturing juggernaut (and their massive govt. subsidies on shoe manufacturing) removed our competitive advantage.

In any case we should all pull together our resources (i.e. in the way of business matchmaking) to make the shipbuilding and large engg. item sector succeed. Those who speak Japanese, Chinese and Korean are in an excellent position to do this by bringing in subcontracts from those countries (say for large engg. items which can be built in a shipyard).