Mumbai: Indian shipowners appear to be on a vessel acquisition spree, having purchased 27 vessels during calendar 2009, added another eight during the first two months of 2010, and are expecting to buy at least another 25 vessels in the remaining 10 months of the year.
Since January 1, companies like Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Great Eastern Shipping, Mercator Lines, Essar Shipping, Five Star Shipping, Arcadia Shipping and Pratibha Shipping have, between them, added eight ships to their respective fleets, including tankers, bulk carriers and one very large crude carrier.
However, even such large-scale additions to the Indian fleet may not cause a substantial increase in the country's tonnage, which had stood at 9.31 million grt (equivalent to 15.36 million dwt) as on January 1, 2010, due to a number of planned scrappings of aged vessels and the enforced retirement of several single-hulled tankers, which need to go out of service by end-2010 as per the IMO's diktat. [04/03/10]
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