After ports, ship-building and SEZ, the Adani group is now planning to own a fleet of ships and set up its own shipping company.A senior company executive told ET that they are planning to buy two or three bulk cargo Panamax ships. Currently the Adani group plys nearly 300 ships in a year on charter.Adani Enterprises is planning to raise $250 million through a foreign currency convertible bond (FCCB) issue to fund this project as well as to acquire coal mines abroad and fund its overseas trading business.The group is already in the process of setting up a ship-building and repair yard in Mundra.
At a time when order-books of all leading ship-building companies across the globe are full, the Adani group has already completed a feasibility study carried out by a leading consultant for the project.There is huge scope for a ship repair yard in Gujarat as an estimated 900 ships visit Gujarat coast every year. Company sources say the group is aiming at a yard with a capacity to treat around 100 vessels a year.However, it will take some time before the project goes on stream and hence it wants to buy ships for the shipping company, said an executive. Adani Enterprises is expecting to trade 10 million tonnes of coal this year.This amount will increase considerably once it sets up its own imported coal-based power plant at Mundra. The company has identified several coal mines abroad and it now requires funds to either take them on lease, enter into tie-ups or outright acquire them.