Tag: Bangladesh

Foreign buyers are on a bargain-hunt for local ship makers to place orders Boom time beckons Bangladesh's fledgling shipbuilding industry as nearly a dozen foreign buyers are on a bargain-hunt for local ship makers to place orders worth hundreds of millions of dollars.Local shipbuilders said they are passing busy time negotiating with some of the top vessel and dredger owning companies of western Europe, the US and South and East Asia.With two established players, Ananda and Western Marine, partly booked for the next two years, the buyers are looking for potential new makers who are capable of doing the job in time and in budget prices."Bangladesh shipbuilders haven't seen such a huge attention from global ship owners before," said C.F Zaman, ex-chief of German-based technical and class certification firm, Germanischer Lloyd."Every week we see officials of new companies arriving in the country. They are seeking to place orders worth hundreds of millions of dollars," Zaman, who advises several firms, told the FE.Zaman said the better-than-expected performance of Western Marine and Ananda have raised Bangladesh's profile as a new ship building destination of the world.In recent months, the two shipbuilders have delivered eight ocean going ships to buyers from Western Europe. ...

Review on July 28 Bangladesh's Supreme Court has recalled a lower court's ruling last week that allowed ship breaking yards to continue operating through October, and will conduct its own review of the case on Thursday, a senior industry official said.The lower court last week gave the $1.5 billion ship recycling industry an additional three months to meet tougher safety and environmental rules on importing old ships to dismantle for scrap."The Supreme Court has recalled the file from the High Court for review on July 28," Captain Salah Uddin, an adviser of the Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association, told Reuters on Tuesday."The government hopes the decision of the High Court will be upheld by the Supreme Court."Rights activists have urged the court to reinstate a year-long ban on the industry, saying its activities remained too dangerous for workers and too costly for the environment. The ban was lifted in March.The High Court lifted the ban after industry vowed to adopt strict rules to protect workers, such as an age limit of at least 18, training and proper safety gear, and cleansing of toxic material from ships prior to arrival.Bangladesh, the top ship recycling nation from 2004 through 2008, hopes to bring ...

More months to meet tougher safety and environmental rules Bangladesh's High Court has agreed to allow ship breaking yards three more months to meet tougher safety and environmental rules on importing old ships to dismantle for scrap, a senior industry official said.Rights activists had urged the court to reinstate a year-long ban on Bangladesh's $1.5 billion ship scrap industry, saying its activities remained too dangerous for workers and too costly for the environment. The ban was lifted in March.Bangladesh, the top ship recycling nation from 2004 through 2008, hopes to bring in around 300 ships by the end of next year, up from 220 in 2009 before the ban, traders said. "The court allowed for importing and dismantling of old ships that ensures the safety and security of both workers and environment," Captain Salah Uddin, an adviser of the Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association told Reuters late Sunday."Now the government has more time to do a draft and that has to be submitted to the court and the court will examine it." The court ordered the Ministry of Industry to draft new regulations for importing old ships, and a government committee to monitor the industry to ensure compliance.Scrapped ships are the ...

For indefinite period early this month as the High Court re-imposed a year-old ban Prices of steel products, mainly that of mild steel (MS) rods are likely to soar in Bangladesh as the ship-breaking industry, the main source of the metal, is virtually out of operation for more than a year over environmental row, traders said. A metric tonne of MS rods is now being sold between Taka 54,000 and Taka 61,000, depending on their grades in retail market.The ship-breaking was halted again for indefinite period early this month as the High Court re-imposed a year-old ban which it had lifted in May for two months under certain environmental pre-conditions.The output of the sector might be the lowest in 2011 as few ships were either dismantled or left half-done due to the ban on ship-breaking, following litigations filed by a leading group of environmentalists.In Bangladesh, one of the top ship recycling nations from 2004 through 2008, scrapped ships have been the main source of steel to meet the country's requirement of some four million metric tonnes a year.In 2010 only 130 ships were dismantled to retrieve 1.3 million tonnes of steels for re-use or recycling in 800 steel re-rolling mills ...

rders for 40 oil tankers It's a good piece of news that the country's shipbuilding industry has recently received orders for 40 oil tankers worth Tk 6.0 billion. This is the largest ever order won by local vessel makers, ushering in a new era for Bangladesh's nascent shipbuilding industry.Already quite a number of ocean-going cargo vessels were exported and orders for more are in the pipeline. It is projected that the contribution by the sector would otherwise be about 3.0 to 4.0 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015, and that export earning may go up to $2.0 billion in near future.A report published in the FE last week suggested that if the local builders could successfully deliver the order for oil tankers in time, they would be receiving more orders from foreign companies. This is a big test for the new industry. New ship-makers like Meghna, Khan Brothers and Three Angle won the contracts for building 40 tankers. Ananda and Western Marine - country's two other major shipbuilders -- have already graduated into world class companies, exporting ocean going vessels worth over $100 million since 2007. They are now eyeing on lucrative overseas deals to ...

Bangladesh is planning to build a deep-sea port in Chittagong The Deepwater Port Authority (DPA) in China yesterday expressed hope that they can help Bangladesh build a deep-sea port here.DPA President Wan Daning conveyed this to Foreign Minister Dipu Moni, who is now on an 8-day visit to China, during her tour to the newly built Yangshan Deepwater Port in Shanghai.The foreign minister informed the port officials that Bangladesh is planning building of a deep-sea port in Sonadia, Chittagong.The Bangladesh foreign minister was invited to visit Yangshan Deepwater Port, a mega project of about $10 billion, built on a reclaimed island connected by about a 35-km long sea bridge with the mainland.The DPA president, while briefing Dipu Moni on the latest state-of-the-art facilities, expressed interest to work with Bangladesh in the construction of the deep-sea port, said a press release of the foreign ministry.Foreign Minister Dipu Moni arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday (June 15) on her way to Beijing for an official meeting invited by her counterpart Yang Jiechi.She will hold official talks with the Chinese foreign minister in Beijing on June 22 and will also call on Chinese Vice President Xi JinpingUpon her arrival in Shanghai, the foreign minister ...

Pakistan looks to recycle more tonnage "Pakistan looks set to recycle more tonnage this year than Bangladesh, as a freeze in ship demolition for most of this year has allowed Gadani breakers to compete more aggressively for vessels.In the year to date, Gadani breakers have bought at least 3.9m dwt of tonnage for demolition, according to data from Clarkson Research Services. This is just shy of the 4.3m dwt Chittagong yards have dismantled,and if uncertainty continues in Bangladesh this figure could stay flat further into this month."Source: Clarkson Research Services