Indian ship owner Goodearth Maritime is planning to build a 1,000-acre (405-hectare) shipyard on the east coast of the country with Korea Maritime Consultants Limited (Komac), shipping journal Tradewinds reported.
The first phase of the project is expected to cost about $250 million, and will see tankers as large as 100,000 dead-weight tonnes being built, the company's Managing Director Sundararajan Mahdan told the weekly journal. Phase two will accommodate supertanker orders and the new yard could build up to 12 Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) a year, Mahdan said.
The yard, along with Komac, a private South Korean company of naval architects and marine engineers - which is expected to build tankers, bulk vessels and chemical carriers - is slated to start construction in about 15 months.
Komac provides a full range of professional services including ship design, construction supervision, and technical and management consultancy services to shipbuilders and ship owners in more than 23 countries. The expansion comes as India's appetite for oil and raw materials is surging to drive its rapidly growing industries.
Tradewinds reported that the Tamil Nadu authorities have agreed in principle to the project. The Indian ship owner is currently negotiating the purchase of the land, the journal added.