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New strategy to boost Colombo Dockyard income
Friday, 27 November 2009 - 10:26 AM SL Time
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The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) rules are being implemented and single hulled tankers have been phased out. This would result in a large fleet of vessels going out of service by the year 2010-12.
This has changed the mix of vessels that have been patronising the Colombo Dockyard. Some of the double-hulled tankers are too large to be taken into the dry dock.
To address the issue, Colombo Dockyard PLC (CDPLC) has been gradually shifting its strategy focusing on Offshore Support vessels, Dredgers and passenger vessels. CDPLC attracted world renowned dredger operators such as Van Oord, Holland, Dredging International, Belgium, Boskalis, Holland and Hyundai, Korea along with specialist offshore support vessel operators, namely Bourbon Offshore, France, Tidewater, USA, SBS Marine, UK, Great Offshore and Greatship from India.
The volume of work generated in the offshore support vessels and the dredgers are high and needs a skilled and dedicated workforce. In keeping with this strategy the drydock accommodated 3-4 small vessels simultaneously, as against one big tanker, General Manager (Commercial), Colombo Dock-yard PLC, Kithsiri Nayakarathna told Daily News Business.
He said that development projects such as the South Port Project have also provided repair opportunities. The yard has been providing essential repair and maintenance facilities to many dredgers, tugs and other work boats deployed on the project. Oil-exploration in the coast of Sri Lanka will begin early next year, which will also attract more offshore vessels to our region.
We have targeted offshore support vessel dredgers and passenger vessel sectors that have been least hit by the global economic recession. Our main client base is from vessels (Indian and foreign owned) that operate in the coast surrounding the Indian Subcontinent. Given the continuous development and oil exploration work taking place (East and the west coast of India) this segment is expected to grow , he said.
Colombo Dockyard PLC has been the service provider for many Indian vessels and foreign vessels on the coast of India. The geographical situation of Sri Lanka is an advantage to a wide market. Dockyard s shipbuilding order book is fully booked till the end of 2012 resulting in the portfolio mix being 50-50 percent in shipbuilding and ship repairing, he said.
He said that the first passenger vessel built in the Colombo Dockyard PLC will be handed over to the Government of India next month.
This vessel can accommodate 250 passengers with cargo facilities. The project value is US $ 18.3 million. The Colombo Dockyard PLC has targeted a turnover of over US $ 110 million this year.
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Jolyroger
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 3 Jan 2010 22:27:27 GMT Report for Abuse
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Dockyard builds largest ship
India no threat to Lanka s ship building - Dockyard CEO:
Sri Lanka should not consider India as a threat any longer but an opportunity to earn foreign income to the country. One such instance in the history of ship building
is about to be unravelled by the Colombo Dockyard PLC, as it has constructed the first and the largest passenger vessel on the request of Indian Government, Colombo Dockyard PLC, Managing Director, CEO, Mangala P.B. Yapa told Daily News Business.
The Arabian Sea will be the first and the largest sea going passenger vessel constructed in Sri Lanka for the international market that can carry 250 passengers cum 100 tons of cargo capacity.
It will be handed over to the Central Government of India early this year.
The vessel has a contract value of Rs. 2,023 million. The vessel will float from India to Lakshadveep which is an union territory belonging to India.
Arabian Sea will be the first among the two ships that was undertaken by the CDPLC for construction, he said.
The CDPLC has been able to complete the construction before on the due date of January 2, 2010. The CDPLC has been able to complete the target period.
It was the first passenger vessel and the most complexed vessel constructed by CDPLC.
Lakshadveep has a population of 70,000 and it is world s pristine tourists destination. Since the CDPLC caters to the infrastructure facilities required by the Central Government of India, it has assured the highest safety measures required by the owners. The vessel consisted with different classes while the accommodation facilities and comforts are assured to the requirements of the passengers, he said.
He said that the preliminary design of the vessel is completed by Larsen and Toubro Limited., whereas the integration and construction was completed by the CDPLC. |
Jolyroger
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3 Jan 2010 22:28:15 GMT Report for Abuse
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During the process of the vessel building we have complied with the standard requirement by the Indian Register of Shipping as well as the Lloyd Register of Shipping.
Therefore, the vessel is built for the requirement of the owner as well as the international requirements.
Apart from that, it meets the requirement of the Government of India especially the Safety of the Life at Sea (SOLAS) and International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements adhered by India, he said.
The second ship underconstruction at the CDPLC dry dock will be completed in May for the transport facilities in the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India.
He said that this will tie the relationship between the two countries and Sri Lanka can be the foreign exchange earner. It has explicitly highlighted the quality of workmanship, construction and competitiveness of the CDPLC among the other dockyards in the region, he said.
This assignment was passed on to us by a tender with special requirements of India such as the passenger capacity, speed and cargo capacity. The Arabian Sea has the SOLAS requirements qualified to sail all over the world, CDPLC, Assistant Projects and Engineering Manager (Design), Lal Hettiarachchi told Daily News Business.
We had to comply with the stringent requirements because it carries passengers who are not familiar with the sea. The owners according to the required standards did the final inspection. The level of redundancy is high and has many alternative options since many of the passengers are not accustomed to sea fairing, CDPLC, Special Projects Manager, Shantha Ratnayake told Daily News Business. |
Jolyroger
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3 Jan 2010 22:36:36 GMT Report for Abuse
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Bunkering facilities receive
a boost with re-opening of northern entrance
Following the re-opening of the northern entrance to the Colombo Port, the North pier will be used as a multi-purpose berthing facility to accommodate oil tankers. A senior SLPA official told The Island that it had launched operations on December 30 with the arrival of the oil tanker MT HEAVAN.
He said a state of the art oil pump pipeline had been constructed to connect the pier with the South Jetty for oil transportation and that would greatly bolster the port s capacity to carry out bunkering operations. According to him, the project had been handled by the SLPA with the help of its own engineers.
Earlier, the closure of the northern entrance owing to terrorist threats caused severe congestion at the port. Recently, the navy cleared the way for re-opening of the northern entrance.
Sources said that there were seven license holders authorised to engage in bunkering operations, including LMS, CPC, Lanka IOC, CSC Kandia, Inter Ocean and Hayleys.
Following the intervention of the Supreme Court, JCT (Pvt) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of SLPA, was tasked with the responsibility of managing the Oil Bank at the Bloemendhal facility. In keeping with the project, two new oil storage tanks would be built to boost the holding capacity.
He said that construction of one storage tank with a capacity of 5,200 metric tons was in progress while a survey was being conducted to explore the possibility of building another, though its capacity had not been decided yet.
Sources said that an issue confronting the Port was sharing of berthing facilities by creating a level paying field to avoid heavy losses to some players (license holders).
There are four oil inlets into the country, with three of them being located in Colombo and at Trincomalee. Of the three inlets in Colombo, two are off-shore Single Point Buoy Moorings one each for crude oil and refined products. |
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