Bangladesh Shipbuilding Industries

[nayeem007]

German cos eying more ships from Bangladesh
Sat, Oct 31st, 2009

Dhaka, Oct 31 (bdnews24.com)—A German business delegation, which left Dhaka Friday, has shown keen interests in buying more ships from Bangladesh.

Peter Clasen, head of the 21-strong group that visited the country from Oct 25-30, said Bangladesh offered skilled but cheaper ship building compared with China, India and Vietnam.

Local ship builders have said Bangladesh could fetch up to $1 billion in ship orders if the country could increase the number of ship building yards to six from the present two.

"Bangladesh has huge potential in its ship building industry. Its labourers are skilled and cheaper than those in China, India and Vietnam," Clasen told bdnews24.com before leaving Bangladesh.

"We are very much interested in buying ships from Bangladesh, which could turn into a production base in South Asia," he said.

Clasen also termed Bangladeshi carpenters "world class".

Ship building requires good carpenters for interior fitting, one of the conditions for getting ship orders.

According to the guidelines of the International Maritime Organisation, every country must replace ships older than 25 years from 2010 for better maritime safety and environmental requirements.

European countries alone will have to replace over 2,500 old ships due to the UN body's guidelines, say Bangladeshi ship builders.

They say the IMO obligation has resulted in a surge of orders for new ships from developing countries such as China, India and Vietnam.

Bangladesh has newly emerged as one of the ship building countries in the region, currently wooing annual orders of half a billion dollars by supplying just six ships per year.

The orders come from Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

"Currently, Bangladesh gets orders of $500 million a year," Md Saiful Islam, chairman of the Western Marine Shipyard, told bdnews24.com Saturday.

"But the figure can be at least $1 billion per year if we can set up six shipyards and supply at least 18 small and medium ships in one year,"

Islam said labour costs in Bangladesh were at least 10 percent lower than China, India or Vietnam.

But, he added that Bangladesh will have to produce more efficient technical people to set herself as a ship building nation.

Ananda Shipyard is the other company now exporting ships to Europe.

http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=145980&cid=4

[nayeem007]

Shipbuilders hope for comeback



Sohel ParvezBangladeshi shipbuilders look to better days as Ananda Shipyard and Slipways has recently received signals about a revival of its 'frozen' orders from buyers, the chairman of the company said yesterday.

“It's a relief. We have come out of a big problem. Orders for making four vessels, which were suspended earlier, have been revived recently,” said Abdullahel Bari, chairman of Ananda, one of the largest shipbuilders in the country.

“We also expect to get a go-ahead to start construction for 10 vessels, whose orders were held up earlier,” he told The Daily Star by phone.

Bari's expectation about a possible recovery from troubled times came after his company held discussions with agents of the buyers during the visit of a German business delegation to Bangladesh last week.

The delegation, comprising representatives from shipping companies, not only raised hopes for Ananda but for other shipbuilders as the mission, especially its leader Peter Clasen, praised skills of local shipbuilders, their openness to adopt modern technology and cost effectiveness.

Bari said Ananda was the victim of global recession that had earlier dried up demands for new ships and prompted cancellation of previously placed orders in shipyards including in Bangladesh.

Ananda fell in trouble after one of its German buyers Wessels Reederei GmbH & Co in May cancelled some $42 million orders for making four ships of 5,500 DWT (deadweight tonnage) capacities.

Bari said Wessels had placed orders for making six vessels of about $65 million.

The shipyard, which has already exported eight vessels, witnessed a holdback in orders for constructing 10 vessels of about $169 million for German buyers due to financial turmoil.

Referring to the discussions with the buyers during the visit of German delegation, the Ananda Shipyard chairman said the company representatives would visit Germany to finalise issues relating to beginning works for vessels, orders of which were kept on hold.

He blamed recession for a dip in the flow of new orders but expected that more orders from Germany would come in the months ahead as the business delegation found good quality of ships made in Bangladesh.

“We also expect to receive orders for making six new vessels with about 2,000 DWT capacity each,” said Bari.

Since 2005, two local shipbuilders -- Ananda and Western Marine Shipyard -- received orders for more than 40 vessels worth about $600 million from buyers including those from Denmark and Germany.

Md Saiful Islam, chairman of Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, also expected a boost in getting new orders from Germany following the latest visit of the delegation.

“They have shown keen interest in our shipbuilding industry because of our technical know-how, cheap labour and communication skill compared with those in other Asian countries,” said Islam.

“If political situation remains stable, we expect to receive orders worth about half a billion dollars within the first quarter of next year,” he said.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesig...php?nid=112178

[nayeem007]

Khulna Shipyard regains lost pride
United News of Bangladesh . Khulna
Khulna shipyard regained its lost glory as the potential venture turned into a successful profitable business concern through building brand-new ships of international standards besides repairing old ones.
Located on the bank of the River Rupsa, the shipyard was established way back in 1957 with the assistance of a German firm, Stulcken Sohn. Two German and British companies had jointly run the shipbuilding yard till 1965.
After the independence, it was handed over to the state-run Bangladesh Steel and Engineering Corporation in 1972. But the shipyard started incurring loss after 1980.
Under the circumstances, the then government had decided to give it over to the private sector to boost production and business.
Considering the economic prospect, later on, Bangladesh Navy was given the responsibility of running the promising venture on October 3, 1999. Shortly after the makeover under a bailout plan, the shipyard started making a turnaround into a profitable enterprise.
According to sources in the Khulna Shipyard Limited company, some 650 ships have been constructed and renovated while 1,800 repaired at the yard in last 47 years.
‘The shipbuilding industrial unit is capable of building and repairing 2000-ton-capacity ships, but it cannot be done because of inadequate depth of Rupsa Channel (3.4-meter draft). Moreover, big ships cannot ply under the low-height Rupsa Bridge,’ one of the sources told the agency.
The KSY is now able to build modern patrol craft (warship), inland and coastal workboat, harbor/coastal and sea-bound tug, barge, ferry, landing craft, crane barge, hydrographic survey vessel, buoy-handling vessel, search and rescue boat, cargo vessel, tankers and other varieties of ship.
It has also the capacity for repairing war and commercial ships and providing technical assistance. Also skilled in general engineering sector, KSY is now constructing electrical tower, trailer, iron tank, oil and water tanks, wagon and machinery used in jute and sugar mills. Besides, it built the newly innovated globe digester for paper mill.

http://www.newagebd.com/2009/nov/04/busi.html

[King Nothing]

Originally Posted by nayeem007

Great news Shipbuilding can have major impact in Bangladesh's economy since it employes unskilled, semi skilled to high specialized experts, thus creating jobs for people from all strata of the society.

This is what happens when private companies flourishes in a sector! I hope the trend starts in other industries aswell.

Surprisingly in emerging shipbuilding nations the public sector is the dominant one. In both Vietnam and China the public sector accounts for more than 60% of the production. When Korea and Japan were emerging shipbuilding nations in the 60s and 70s their sectors were characterised by heavy government control as well.

[nayeem007]

Originally Posted by King Nothing

Surprisingly in emerging shipbuilding nations the public sector is the dominant one. In both Vietnam and China the public sector accounts for more than 60% of the production. When Korea and Japan were emerging shipbuilding nations in the 60s and 70s their sectors were characterised by heavy government control as well.

I think that's natural since heavy industries like (shipbuilding, steel etc) in most developing countries are government owned. As the country progresses, gradually private sector starts flourishing, it's the natural transition. Nowadays it takes less time since due to globalization, capital is easily transferable. If there is an opportunity, foreign capitals will flow in within no time..

Also we have to understand that China, Vietnam and Korea are/were all heavily goverment controlled nations.

[King Nothing]

Originally Posted by nayeem007

Nowadays it takes less time since due to globalization, capital is easily transferable. If there is an opportunity, foreign capitals will flow in within no time..

And it can flow out in not time. The reason why Korea developed but Latin American countries suffered was beacuse capital flowed out very quickly from the latter. Whereas Korea had tight controls and rules regarding capital outflow.

I was reading "Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism" by Ha-Joon Chang"

http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Samaritans.../dp/1596913991

Heres what the book is about

Gen. Park Chung-Hee's dictatorship (despite its corrupt machinations) set the economic groundwork that would lift Korea out of poverty. Though Korea's strategies are heretical to first world, free-market economists, Chang argues that the world's wealthiest nations historically relied on the same heavy-handed protectionist approaches in their quests for economic hegemony. These wealthy, first world economies, which preach free market and free trade to the poor countries in order to capture larger shares of the latter's markets and to pre-empt the emergence of possible competitors are Chang's bad Samaritans. Chang builds his outsider stance through a history of capitalism and globalization and stories of other struggling countries' economic transformations.

[nayeem007]

Originally Posted by King Nothing

And it can flow out in not time. The reason why Korea developed but Latin American countries suffered was beacuse capital flowed out very quickly from the latter. Whereas Korea had tight controls and rules regarding capital outflow.

I was reading "Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism" by Ha-Joon Chang"

http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Samaritans.../dp/1596913991

Heres what the book is about

It looks like an interesting read.

Anyways, in one of my Managerial economics course the Prof went in detail about this issue and why the World Bank and IMF is seen as an "evil" force by many developing countries. The main reason for that is, they preach the same mantra for all developing nations since it worked for South Korea.Basically Korea started with a very controlled economy which was agrarian, then in the next step they focused on labor intensive manufacturing and finally transitioned to knowledge based industry. During this whole time, the foreign doners(specially US) were pumping in capital to South Korea.Infact World Bank website states this as a huge success post WW 11 era.

But the success of South Korea was dependent a lot on one benevolent dictator, who had control over all affairs and made smooth transition.He worked hard to develop a legal system that can implement the business transaction rights and corruption was minimised compared to any other developing nations. Many other developing countries do not have the same luxury like South Korea, Malaysia or Singapore. Authoritarian governments in 95% of scenarios are corrupt and power hungry. Thus such step by step process of development like in Korea is bound to be a failure. Infact IMF and WB clauses tied to loans, many a times does immense damage, since they force countries to open market for free competition when the capital market is weak and no supervision of the legal rights of companies. This results in market bubble and burst as seen in Bangladesh and Argentina.

Secondly, in 50s and 60s, development was indeed a phased process. But today due to improvement of international communication and technology share. A country can become extremely competent in technology service, even before developing major manufacturing base. India or Phillipines would be good examples.

Free market or capitalism is not the panacea for all problem. But in the end it's the best we have got. China, India are only growing after opening up their country for foreign investment, same goes for China. South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia went through a slightly different path but eventually came to the same point.

[King Nothing]

Originally Posted by nayeem007

Infact the ADB and WB clause tied to the loan many a times does immense damage, since they force countries to open market for free competition when the capital market is weak and no supervision of the legal rights of companies. This results in market bubble and burst as seen in Bangladesh and Argentina.

This is what I was exactly talking about. While The ADB isnt as bad WB and IMF are. Developing countries that are forced to open up their markets oven suffer at the expense of developed countries as the latter's products surge in. Many Latin American countries suffered and till this date they have high inequality. Come to think of it Cuba is like the 2nd or 3rd highest rank Latin American country on the Human Development Index.

Free market or capitalism is not the panacea for all problem. But in the end it's the best we have got.

Thing is both Korea and Japan had a mix corporatism and communism (guided capitalism). Such methods are good. Since this thread is abt shipbuilding what I would like to say is Shipbuilders require immense support from the government. The developed countries and IMF and WB might oppose it but the govt. should in no way bow to pressure.

[nayeem007]

In order to have a functioning free market economy we need to have a good solid capital market with rules and regulations. It is easier said than done since creating efficient market requires free flow of information(which is hard for most developing nations) and the regulatory bodies like SEC might not have enough control to implement all financial rules. Infact support from law enforcement agencies is also required to take punitive measures against corporations involved in fraud.

Also, situation varies from country to country. Latin American nations like Chile and Brazil have done quite well after opening up the economy. Their per capita GDP is around 8-9 thousand dollars, much higher than that of Bangladesh or Nigeria, which have relatively closed economy. China, India, Malaysia have all done better after opening up the country for foreign investment and competition. Otherwise cars like ambassadors would still be ruling the streets of Bombay and Delhi. But saying this, I completely agree with you on the harmful affect of World Bank and IMF, who basically try to force countries into certain situation which is not applicable for that time period. (example: asking government to remove subsidy from gasoline to have better balance of payment, even though reducing gasoline price for consumers might have far better result through increased economic activities).

Government protection/support might be necessary initially to help support industries. But it should be a temporary measure since such assistance leads to complacency and inefficient process. It's even seen in developed countries like US, the auto and steel industry have lost global competitiveness due to government trade barriers and bailout money. Normal healthy competition would have forced them to be more innovative.

Some countries might be authoritarian in nature politically, good examples would be South korea, Singapore or Malaysia. But their economies are relatively much more open than China, India in 70s or North Korea at present.Finally, Bangladesh's government is much more corrupt than Cuba, so any industry/ institution it gets involved in, be it Paper( Khulna Newsprint Mill), Phone (T&T),Airlines( Biman) or Jute mill (Adamjee), has resulted in huge loss and utter failure.

[TIslam]

Originally Posted by King Nothing

.....
Thing is both Korea and Japan had a mix corporatism and communism (guided capitalism). Such methods are good.

Singapore, even to date, is like that to a great extent, "guided capitalism".

[nayeem007]

Originally Posted by TIslam

Singapore, even to date, is like that to a great extent, "guided capitalism".

Yeah true..but I wonder what "guided capitalism" our great leaders like Hasina and Khaleda will provide. Any government involvement in Bangladesh leads to massive corruption and ultimate downfall of the industry.

It would be nice to have benevolent leaders like in South Korea, Malaysia or Singapore,to keep a balance of things. But in Bangladeshi context I think we have to rely completely on private initiatives. Even the microcredit schemes that have improved our HDI(infant mortality, primary school enrollment, sanitation) has been done by non government organizations.. Telecommunication sector, Textiles/garments have all flourished under private investors.

If BD government gets involved in Shipbuilding industry, that's the end of it. (Well we might become the largest market player digitally )

[fallstuf]

From The New Nation , December 8, 2009
http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/200...8/news0235.htm



EPZ for shipbuilding



AS appeared in the press recently, the government has agreed to set up an export processing zone exclusively for the shipbuilding industry which, according to many, has the potential to be a major export-oriented sector. A proposal in this regard was placed on behalf of the Bangladesh Shipbuilders' Association and the commerce minister gave his nod to it saying the government is convinced with the proposal of setting up an EPZ for the shipbuilding industry and a 'detailed draft paper' from the shipbuilders on this is awaited. It has been mentioned that export processing zones in the country contributed a lot to increasing exports, particularly of garments and light engineering products.

The minister also assured that the government might consider shipbuilders' demand for low-cost finance and tax concession. The shipbuilding EPZ, if established, can be the next success story since people from many countries who are famous for shipbuilding are coming to buy ships from here and also looking for joint ventures. In fact, Bangladesh has a great potential to be the most competitive shipbuilder in the world as the local shipbuilders already started earning reputation of building 'faultless' ships.

Denmark is the first country to procure a ship made in Bangladesh. For promoting export market and earning the government and the shipbuilders would have to put in efforts in developing a strong backward linkage industry for the shipbuilding sector. Many foreign countries rich in shipbuilding knowledge are already in touch with Bangladesh shipbuilders showing interest in buying ships from here and looking for joint ventures. A 25-member business delegation from Denmark came to Dhaka recently and held talks with the shipbuilders and other local business leaders here for this purpose. Partnership between Bangladeshi shipbuilders and foreign expertise in shipbuilding can bring more success in the secto

[fallstuf]

Bangladesh receives 14m ship export order
December 9, 2009 ·

http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/200...9/news0318.htm

Bangladesh receives 14m ship export order
BSS, Dhaka

Bangladesh has bagged export order of oceangoing ships and two tankers worth US $ 14 million in the shipbuilding fair held in India recently.

Each vessel has the capacity of 5000-deadweight tonnage (DWT) and each tanker 1500 cubic meter, highest capacity ships compared to others so far exported from Bangladesh.

Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) at Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, India, arranged Bangladesh’s participation in the fair titled ‘Shipbuilding, Machinery and Marine Technology International Trade Fair on November 2-14.

A total of 85 exhibitors from different shipbuilding countries, including Bangladesh, Germany, South Korea and Japan, demonstrated ship-related technology and equipment in the fair.

Two major shipbuilding companies—Kurnafuli Shipbuilders Ltd. and Dhaka Dockyard and Engineering Works- showcased export quality shipbuilding products in the fair. Bangladeshi pavilion drew attention of a good number of visitors and the pavilion members participated in all business dialogues organized on the sidelines of the fair, said an EPB press release on Monday.

An industry event, inaugurated by former shipping secretary of India APV Sarma, was held in the fair. Bangladeshi shipbuilding companies joined, among others, in it.

Experts see Bangladesh’s potential shipbuilding industry might give an impetus to the country’s economy as a number of high-powered business delegations have recently evinced their keen interest in investing in the sector.

Industry people believe that clouds over Bangladesh’s shipbuilding industry is paring down as international buyers, recovered from the global economic recession, have started showing their interest once again in the country’s thriving sector.

They pointed out that the sector had witnessed some sort of uncertainty due to the downturn that rocked the developed economies as well as dented buyers’ confidence.

But, industry people said, Bangladesh’s potential to grow as a major shipbuilding nation in the world was always beyond any question.

[fallstuf]

From
http://www.newagebd.com/2009/dec/20/busi.html#3





Western Marine starts making ro-ro ferry
December 19, 2009


Western Marine starts making ro-ro ferry
Staff Correspondent . Chittagong




Ship building company Western Marine Shipyard Limited on Saturday started making a ro-ro ferry, first of its kind in the country, at a cost of Tk 29 crore for the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation.

Shipping minister Shahjahan Khan inaugurated the construction work of the ferry as chief guest at a function at the shipyard at Kolagaon area under Patiya upazila in Chittagong.

Member of the parliament Shamsul Hoque Chowdhury, shipping secretary Abdul Mannan Hawlader, and Chittagong Port Authority chairman RU Ahmed attended the inaugural function as special guests.

The company sources said the company was expecting to deliver the ferry, with capacity to carry 20 heavy vehicles, 340 passengers and 25 crewmen, by December 2010. The ferry will be commissioned at the Charjanajat ferry terminal in Munshiganj, the sources added.

[fallstuf]

From :
http://www.theindependent-bd.com/details.php?nid=154531



Local shipbuilding sector to save foreign currencies
December 21, 2009

Local shipbuilding sector to save foreign currencies
ECONOMIC REPORTER


Minister for Shipping Shajahan Khan on Saturday said country would save huge foreign currencies, as a local shipbuilding company Western Marine Limited, was building a Ro-Ro ferry for the first time in Bangladesh.

Terming this a milestone for domestic ship building industry, the minister said the country had to procure such kind of vessel from Europe in the past since there was no large, sophisticated and technologically modern shipbuilding companies here capable of building specialized vessel, says a press release.

“It will help the country to save huge foreign currencies since we have to buy those vessels in foreign currencies,” the minister said while inaugurating the keel-laying of the Ro-Ro ferry at the Western Marine’s shipyard at Kolagaon Union under Patiya Upazila in Chittagong Minister as the chief guest.

Country’s leading ship building company Western Marine Shipyard Limited is building the Ro-Ro ferry for Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) at a cost of Tk 29 crore after winning a competitive bidding.

The ferry with the capacity of carrying 20 heavy vehicles, 340 passengers and 25 crews is expected to be delivered by December 2010. The vessel will be build under the supervision of classification society Germanischer lloyd .
After completion, the Ro-Ro ferry will be commissioned at the Charjanajat Ferry terminal in Munshiganj for transportation of passengers and vehicles.

Acknowledging contribution of Western Marine in flourishing the ship building sector, the shipping minister said that Bangladesh had made strong foothold in global shipbuilding industry within short time and building of Ro-Ro ferry will take it to another step of accomplishment.

Shamsul Hoque Chowdhury, Member of Parliament from Patiya, Abdul Mannan Howlader, secretary of Ministry of Shipping, Golam Mostafa Kamal, chairman of BIWTC and Commodore R. U. Ahmed, chairman of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) also delivered their speech at the ceremony as the special guests.

Earlier, Western Marine chairman Saiful Islam and managing director Sakhawat Hossain welcomed the guests at the shipyard.

[manbil777]

Here is a small demonstration of the Eckhold Metal forming machine -- used extensively in shipbuilding (in case anyone wondered how metal especially 'angle iron' is bent),

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01RnS6G6t30&NR=1

[nayeem007]

Shipbuilding shows signs of pick-up



Sohel Parvez
Two local firms gear up to resume the construction of shipyards expecting foreign orders for vessels, as demand has showed signs of a pick-up with recovery from the global recession.

Khan Brothers Shipbuilding Ltd and Narayanganj Shilpbuilders Ltd stalled work to establish shipyards after the global financial crisis depressed global demand for new ships.

“We have already started construction. We had slowed work mainly to bypass fallout from the recession,” said Tofayel Kabir Khan, managing director of Khan Brothers Shipbuilding Ltd, a concern of Khan Brothers Group.

He also blamed the suspension of construction partly on difficulty in obtaining bank loans. The shipyard is being built on the bank of Meghna at Gazaria, Munshiganj, at an estimated cost of Tk 100 crore.

“The deadlock in receiving loans appears to be easing as some banks are coming out and extending loans to shipbuilding. Now we hope to get a loan to establish the shipyard by year-end."

Khan Brothers, which plans to develop the shipyard on about 50 acres, began building shipyards to build vessels in early 2008, inspired by global demand for vessels at around 10,000 units by 2012.

Small and medium vessels account for about 55 percent of the projected 10,000 ships, insiders said.

According to shipyard operators, Bangladeshi shipyards can tap global demand with small and medium-sized ships, as traditional shipbuilding nations, such as China and Korea, focus on large ships.

With a long maritime history and a favourable geographical location, Bangladesh enjoys various advantages, such as cheap labour, a presence of nearly 100,000 skilled and semiskilled workers and industry-related educational and training institutes.

Two leading local shipmakers -- Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Ltd and Western Marine Shipyard Ltd -- have bagged orders to make over 40 small vessels of about $600 million, mainly from European buyers.

“We are going to be the third shipyard capable of making global standard vessels for foreign buyers by the end of the year,” said Khan.

Khan Brothers expects to develop its capacity to deliver four ships a year.

Ferdousar Rahman, senior general manager of Khan Brothers, said the shipyard would have the capacity to make vessels up to 15,000 DWT (dead weight tonnage).

“But we will be able to make ships between 3,000-10,000 DWT as well,” said Rahman, also a naval architect from BUET.

Shah Abdul Latif, managing director of Narayanganj Shipbuilders Ltd, said the company had been quiet during the financial crisis.

“It appears that fallout from the recession on the global shipbuilding market is easing. Now we can resume work,” he said. “We will seek bank loans soon to complete the project.”

The official of Narayanganj Shipbuilders, which plans to set up the shipyard off the Meghna River near Gazaria, Munishiganj, said the company is receiving queries from oversees.

“We are optimistic about beginning civil construction from next month."

Sakhawat Hossain, managing director of Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, also said the company is on an expansion mode to take advantage of recovery in global demand for new ships.

“The market has started picking up. We expect a rise in orders for new vessels by the end of this year."

sohel@thedailystar.net

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesig...php?nid=125205

[nayeem007]

Second ship handed over to Danish buyer



Staff Correspondent, CtgBangladesh graduated to a new status as ocean-going vessels maker through the handover of the second such a ship to a Danish buyer at a ceremony in Chittagong yesterday.

Michael Sorensen, country manager for Stella Shipping, who bought Stella Moon of 2,900DWT (dead weight tonnage) capacity for $8.2 million, received the ship from Abdullahel Bari, chairman of Ananda Shipyard and Slipways Ltd, the private company that made the vessel.

Ananda Shipyard had earlier sold another ocean-going vessel to the same Danish firm on May 15, 2008 and six vessels to Mozambique on November 13, 2008.

Held at Chittagong Dry Dock Limited, the handover ceremony was also addressed by the shipping minister who was upbeat on the country's future prospect in such ship exports and made an assurance of government's more support for the industry's growth.

“The government attaches importance to the industry as it creates huge job opportunities and income, which can help Bangladesh to lift itself to the status of a middle-income country,” Shajahan Khan told the function.

The minister also mentioned that the industry now enjoys some benefits which include 5 percent cash incentives for exports, duty-free bonded facilities for importing raw materials and green channel facility to offload those directly at shipyards.

Local AL lawmaker MA Latif, Shipping Secretary Md Abdul Mannan Hawlader and Chittagong Dry Dock Managing Director Enamul Baqui also spoke on the occasion.

Ananda Shipyard has already bagged export orders for 28 more ships -- with a total contract value of $454.6 million or Tk 3,182 crore, according to the company officials.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesig...php?nid=132886

[nayeem007]

Local firms to make deep-sea fishing vessels

Md Sakhawat Hossain, managing director of Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, and A Rouf Chowdhury, managing director of Fishers Shipyard Ltd, exchange documents after signing a deal in Dhaka recently. Under a joint venture, the two companies will build fishing trawler with 350 tonnes capacity.


Sohel Parvez After entering the global shipbuilding industry, Bangladesh now aims at making international standard deep-sea fishing vessels with an eye on export.

Two local businesses -- Western Marine Shipyard Ltd and Fishers Shipyard Ltd -- have recently signed a 50:50 partnership deal to make such vessels with capacities up to 350 tonnes.

The joint-venture deal, entrepreneurs said, would open a new chapter by enhancing capacity of the shipbuilders in the country that will also be able to cut import dependence.

A Rouf Chowdhury, managing director of Fishers Shipyard Ltd, and Md Sakhawat Hossain, managing director of Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, signed the partnership deal on behalf of their organisations.

Officials of these organisations said the venture would encourage sustainable fishing in the deep sea.

“We are going to make international standard fishing trawlers for the first time in Bangladesh,” said Hossain of Western Marine, which has so far won around $200 million orders for making 24 vessels for the buyers including from Germany.

The MD of Western Marine said the new venture would help meet the domestic demand.

Bangladeshi fishermen now import deep-sea trawlers from countries such as Japan and Thailand.

At present nearly 200 deep-sea trawlers are operating to catch shrimp, pomfret, snapper and tongue sole in the Bay of Bengal.

Stakeholders said almost all these trawlers are imported and have become very old.

Hossain said many of these old trawlers would need to be replaced by new ones within the next five to 10 years.

“Our initiative will help cut import dependence and save foreign currencies,” he said. “We will make trawlers following the European standards.”

Hossain also said they would be able to make modern deep-sea fishing trawlers at lower cost, giving those a competitive edge over the imported ones.

The official said Tk 25 crore-Tk 30 crore is needed to import a fishing vessel of 300-400 tonnage capacity.

“We will be able to make such deep-sea vessels at 20 percent lower cost.”

“Our main target is to explore the global market,” said Amanullah Chowdhury, managing director of Sea Fishers Group that owns Fishers Shipyard Ltd.

Md Saiful Islam, chairman of Western Marine Shipyard, was also present at the signing programme.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesig...php?nid=142582

[nayeem007]

Western Marine launches ice-class vessels

Staff Correspondent, Ctg


Marking a milestone in the shipbuilding industry, Western Marine Shipyard Ltd has rolled out two ice-class vessels.

"These are specially designed vessels," said Md Saiful Islam, chairman of Western Marine. Ice-class ships have strengthened hulls to enable them to navigate through sea ice.

EMSSEA -- a 100-metre, 5,200DWT (deadweight tonnage) multi-purpose dry-cargo ship, was the first to leave the docks on Monday. The second -- EMSRIVER -- a sister vessel of EMSSEA, floated yesterday from the shipyard in Chittagong. The EMSSEA is the largest vessel built by a local shipbuilder until now.

The two are part of the 12 vessels worth $130 million in total, ordered by Grona Shipping, a German company. The vessels will be delivered by 2012 in phases.

Built in compliance with Germani-scher Lloyds standard and designed to endure extreme weather conditions, the ice-class vessels will be deployed in the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea, said the shipbuilder.

"Bangladesh had established its name as a successful shipbuilding nation by delivering such massive vessels," said Sakhawat Hossain, managing director of Western Marine, during the launch.

Marku Vedder, fleet manager of Grona Shipping, also present on the occasion, expressed his satisfaction over the quality workmanship and timely delivery of the ships.

The shipbuilder is now receiving many orders from Germany, Denmark, Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries as Bangladesh is increasingly being recognised as an attractive destination for medium and small vessel building.