en.Wedoany.com Reported - State-owned Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has launched a newbuilding tender for large tankers and containerships.

According to TradeWinds, SCI is tendering for the construction of four methanol dual-fuel Aframax tankers, plus two firm and four optional methanol-ready 1,700 TEU feeder containerships. The Aframax tanker order explicitly requires construction by Indian domestic yards only, while the containership order will also prioritize Indian domestic yards.

Indian shipyards have not yet built Aframax tankers. According to SCI's requirements, yards without prior Aframax tanker construction experience must establish a technical cooperation partnership with an internationally renowned shipyard or design firm, and the partner must have delivered at least three Aframax or larger crude oil tankers in the past five years.

For the containership order, SCI also requires Indian yards without relevant construction experience to establish a technical cooperation partnership with an international shipyard or design firm to be eligible to bid. The partner must have delivered at least three containerships with a capacity of no less than 3,000 TEU that are still in operation within the past 10 years.

According to Clarksons data, the current newbuilding price for a 113,000-115,000 dwt Aframax tanker is approximately $74 million (about RMB 503 million), a slight increase from $72.5 million in the same period last year. The current newbuilding price for an 1,800/2,100 TEU containership is approximately $32.5 million (about RMB 221 million), basically flat compared to the same period last year.

Sources indicate that South Korea's HD Hyundai and Samsung Heavy Industries, which have already entered the Indian shipbuilding market through strategic partnerships, are expected to participate in SCI's tender. Samsung Heavy Industries signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India's Swan Defence & Heavy Industries (SDHI) last year to cooperate in shipbuilding and maritime business; HD Hyundai has reached a technical cooperation agreement with India's Cochin Shipyard.

In addition, HD Hyundai has also signed an exclusive business agreement with the government of Tamil Nadu state in India, planning to build a new shipyard there.

SCI has previously invested in ordering methanol dual-fuel vessels. In March this year, SCI signed an agreement with Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited to order one 3,000 dwt methanol dual-fuel Platform Supply Vessel (PSV), which is the first methanol dual-fuel vessel in SCI's fleet. The vessel's cost is as high as $39 million, far exceeding the price of similar vessels built by Chinese and South Korean shipyards.

Currently, SCI is actively promoting the "Built in India" initiative, supporting the Indian government's plan to revitalize the shipbuilding and maritime industry. The Indian government aims to elevate its shipbuilding industry, which currently holds less than 1% of the global shipbuilding market share, to the world's top ten by 2030, and to leap to the world's top five by 2047.

Earlier this year, SCI tendered for the construction of eight 88,000 cubic meter Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs), of which two would be built by international shipyards, and the remaining six would be built at Indian domestic yards by the same international shipyard through technical cooperation, collaboration, joint venture, or strategic alliance.

Shipyards participating in the bidding for this VLGC tender include Cochin Shipyard, SDHI, and L&T Shipbuilding. If the relevant orders are finalized, this would mark the first time the Indian shipbuilding industry builds high-value-added large vessels.

It is worth mentioning that the above three shipyards, plus a consortium formed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers and Hindustan Shipyard, are also bidding for an order of up to four dual-fuel ready MR product tankers. These newbuildings are jointly promoted by SCI and several large Indian refining companies, including Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum.

It is understood that SCI's fleet comprises 125 vessels, including tankers, bulk carriers, LPG carriers, ferries, tugs, and offshore vessels. The offshore vessel types owned by SCI include PSVs, Anchor Handling Tug Supply vessels (AHTS), and multi-purpose vessels.

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