Shipping Corp looking for minority stake in shipyard

08 Jan 2011

Mumbai: State-owned Shipping Corp of India (SCI) will commence due diligence activities soon to acquire a minority stake in one of the four Indian shipbuilders that had submitted an expression of interest, a top official said on Friday.

India's largest shipping company, the SCI, will start due diligence in ABG Shipyard Bharati Shipyard, Pipavav Shipyard and unlisted Goodearth, Chairman S Hajara told reporters.

Hajara also said his company and state-run Coal India had agreed to set up a joint venture for the transport of thermal coal. The JV will be set up in 2011, he said, without revealing financial details.

According to Hajara, the SCI expects to initially ship around 6 million tonnes of thermal coal, which can go to over 20 million tonnes thereafter.