Western Marine exports two more bulk carriers

January 13, 2020 | The Daily Star

Western Marine exports two more bulk carriers

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi and Indian High Commissioner Riva Ganguly Das at the handover ceremony of two bulk carriers made by Western Marine at a programme in Chattogram on Friday. Photo: Collected Staff Correspondent, Ctg

Western Marine Shipyard (WMS) has handed over two bulk carriers, each worth around Tk 50 crore, to Indian steel manufacturer and thermal power plant operator Jindal Steel and Power.

Each of their deadweight tonnage or total carrying capacity, including cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers and crew, is 8,000 tonnes while cargo hold capacity 8,988 cubic metres.

The service speed or average speed under normal load and weather conditions is 10 knots or around 18.5 kilometres per hour. The cargo vessels also come with accommodations for 14 persons.

The vessels, christened JSW Sinhgad and JSW Lohgad, are the last pair of four vessels the Indian company placed orders for in 2015.

JSW Sinhgad and JSW Lohgad, the bulk carriers, are seen harboured. Photo: Collected

JSW Raigad and JSW Pratapgad were handed over in October 2017.

The WMS officials said the vessels were not only the largest of their kind to be built in Bangladesh but also the first such exports to India.

A WMS statement issued Saturday said the ships would be stationed at JSW Jaigarh Port, located between Mumbai and Goa.

They will carry iron ore and coal from Jaigarh Port to Dharamtar Port, located in Dolvi of Maharashtra’s Raigarh district, it added. 

Though the two vessels will be plying a river route, they were capable of running on any sea route, said WMS Chairman Md Saiful Islam.

Jindal Group’s website terms itself a $22 billion global conglomerate with interests spanning the steel, mining, power, industrial gases and ports verticals.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi was the chief guest at the handing over ceremony onboard a WMS vessel, Chittagong Boat Club Western Cruise, on the river Karnaphuli on Friday.

He said the exports were a milestone in the country’s product diversification.

Indian High Commissioner Riva Ganguly Das, who attended the event as special guest, hoped that bilateral trade relations would definitely be enhanced.