India's Varun to order 11 new ships from S Korea
India's Varun Shipping Co Ltd is expected to order 11 new ships from South Korean shipyards after April 1, with a fleet expansion budget of US$600 million, a company official said late on Sunday.
'The Indian financial starts from April 1. We will place our orders for new ships right after April 1,' Capt Mohit Brij Malhotra, the company's senior general manager of safety and quality, told Reuters on the sidelines of the Intertanko Houston Tanker Event. Capt Malhotra did not specify any South Korean shipyards.
Varun will order a total of six product tankers and Aframax crude carriers, two liquefied petroleum gas carriers, two offshore supply vessels and one oil rig, he said.
The company is also expecting delivery of a Very Large Crude Carrier soon, Capt Malhotra said.
Varun currently owns 12 liquefied petroleum gas carriers, one product tanker, three crude tankers and three offshore supply vessels.
'Varun is the fastest growing shipping company in India,' he said.
'We are still going to go ahead with the ship orders even though tanker asset values are high right now,' he added.
Varun is opting for South Korean yards over Chinese shipyards, partly due to more suitable ship designs and quality requirements, Capt Malhotra said.
In January, the company reported a 25 per cent fall in net profit for the third quarter ended December due to lower freight rates and sale of two vessels.
The company reported a net profit of 396.29 million rupees (S$14 million) in the October-December quarter compared with 527.20 million rupees a year ago.
Varun's managing director Yudhishthir Khatau said that the company was adversely affected by generally warm weather in the northern hemisphere, which had led to lesser demand for gas in the last quarter of 2006.
Varun Shipping sold two vessels during the third quarter and had lesser number of vessels in its fleet compared to the year-ago quarter, he said.
Last year, the company said it would invest 20 billion rupees to expand its fleet of tankers, gas carriers and offshore vessels.
'The Indian financial starts from April 1. We will place our orders for new ships right after April 1,' Capt Mohit Brij Malhotra, the company's senior general manager of safety and quality, told Reuters on the sidelines of the Intertanko Houston Tanker Event. Capt Malhotra did not specify any South Korean shipyards.
Varun will order a total of six product tankers and Aframax crude carriers, two liquefied petroleum gas carriers, two offshore supply vessels and one oil rig, he said.
The company is also expecting delivery of a Very Large Crude Carrier soon, Capt Malhotra said.
Varun currently owns 12 liquefied petroleum gas carriers, one product tanker, three crude tankers and three offshore supply vessels.
'Varun is the fastest growing shipping company in India,' he said.
'We are still going to go ahead with the ship orders even though tanker asset values are high right now,' he added.
Varun is opting for South Korean yards over Chinese shipyards, partly due to more suitable ship designs and quality requirements, Capt Malhotra said.
In January, the company reported a 25 per cent fall in net profit for the third quarter ended December due to lower freight rates and sale of two vessels.
The company reported a net profit of 396.29 million rupees (S$14 million) in the October-December quarter compared with 527.20 million rupees a year ago.
Varun's managing director Yudhishthir Khatau said that the company was adversely affected by generally warm weather in the northern hemisphere, which had led to lesser demand for gas in the last quarter of 2006.
Varun Shipping sold two vessels during the third quarter and had lesser number of vessels in its fleet compared to the year-ago quarter, he said.
Last year, the company said it would invest 20 billion rupees to expand its fleet of tankers, gas carriers and offshore vessels.