Pipavav bags $1bn Panamax orders

Mumbai: India's Pipavav Shipyard has signed contracts worth $1.06bn with Norway's Golden Ocean Group, France's SETAF and Greece's AVGI Maritime Services to build 26 Panamax vessels of 74,500dwt each. The vessels are scheduled to be delivered starting March 2009, with the last vessel to be handed over by May 2012. The contracts have boosted the yards orderbook to almost 2m dwt.

The company, which plans to open a new facility in Pipavav, plans to list on the stock market in the near future. Upon completion in October this year, the new complex will boast shiprepair and shipbuilding facilities for both the merchant shipping and offshore sectors.  [15/02/08]