Date:09/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/09/stories/2008050955991900.htm

Business

Transworld to buy two Chinese vessels

Special Correspondent

KOCHI: Mumbai-based Transworld group, which owns 16 shipping vessels and operates 13 feeder services, has placed an order for two more new vessels of 1,800 TEU capacity from China.

This was stated by Ramesh Ramakrishnan, chairman of the Transworld group, here on Thursday.

He was in Kochi in connection with the launch of a new vessel, the OEL Dubai, with 1,030 TEUs to operate in the Kochi-Colombo sector.

The new ships are to be built at the Wenchong Shipyard in the Guang Zhau province of China at a cost of over $80m, he said.

Mr. Ramakrishnana said the logistics division of the shipping conglomerate formalised an exclusive contract with Maruti Udyog Ltd. for the movement of Maruti cars to Kerala through coastal shipping mode.

It was now carrying 250 cars per week and the figures were likely to be increased shortly.

The finalisation of this contract would definitely increase the company’s business in coastal shipping, which was in the range of 1,100 TEUs, he said.

The Transworld group with a turnover of $700m is having 22 ships in its fleet.

He said the container throughput of Orient Express Lines (OEL), the flagship company’s of the group, had grown steadily over the years and in the year 2007, it had moved close to 500,000 TEUs.

With the growing trade between Indian sub-continent and the Arabian Gulf, OEL saw its role as a regional carrier increasing in the future.

The future plans included feeder services from Kochi to Gulf and Jebel Ali to Umm Qasr in Iraq.