Apeejay Shipping Expands fleet, acquires a Gearless Panamax
Beats Global Slow Down Blues
Kolkata, March 24: Apeejay Shipping Limited, an Apeejay Surrendra Group company, today
announced the acquisition of a 67,359 DWT Gearless Panamax, Japanese make. The ship will
be renamed ‘APJ Mahalaxmi’.
The expansion schedule of Apeejay Shipping is in place with 'APJ Kais'- the first of the 3
Geared Supramaxes that the company has ordered from Cosco Shipyard Group in China, to
join in April 09.This will take the fleet size to 6 with a DWT of 357,653 (2 more ships are on
order to be delivered in 2010 and 2011).
“Ship values being what they are today, we at Apeejay Shipping, see an opportunity. Even
though markets remain bleak and have been pretty much at the bottom for the last two
quarters, judicious addition to the fleet with second hand tonnage, at prices that would have
been unimaginable not too long ago, would definitely provide an up-side. This also keeps our
focus on expansion and growth", said Captain Shekhar Mahapatra, CEO, Apeejay Shipping
Limited.
Apeejay Shipping, one of the leading players in the country today, is constantly augmenting
and upgrading its fleet to meet the requirements of global trade. Specialising in dry bulk cargo
the fleet comprises a mix of panamax, handymax and supramax vessels. Even while
expanding fleet, attention has been on maintaining its robustness and trading capacity with
average age of vessels within 14 years. Currently in operation are the 71,037-dwt APJ
Suryavir, 64,100-dwt APJ Sridevi , 52,454-dwt APJ Jad, and 45,703-dwt APJ Akhil. The newly
acquired panamax,APJ Mahalaxmi, for instance, has traded internationally for 24 years and is
a strategic buy for the Group in the current scenario.
The company is also working towards enhancing value by growing technologically and
improving operational efficiencies to reduce turnaround time. By 2010 Apeejay Shipping aims
to be a 1 million DWT company that will offer its customers professional, innovative and total
sea logistics solutions.
About Apeejay Shipping Limited
Is a ISO 9001: 2000 company with expertise and world-class service spanning 6 decades.
Established in 1948, it is amongst India’s largest privately owned shipping companies with
carriers operating worldwide and Indian coastal trade. Apeejay Shipping is part of the over Rs
4500 crore Apeejay Surrendra Group. For more information, please visit www.apeejayshipping.com.
About Apeejay Surrendra Group
Established in 1910 with its foundation in Steel, the over Rs 4500 crore Apeejay Surrendra
Group employs close to 43000 people in rapidly expanding operations in Tea, Hospitality,
Shipping, Retail & Real Estate, Financial Services and has diversified into new business
initiatives like Shipyards, Logistics and Knowledge Parks. For more Information, please visit www.apeejaygroup.com
Source: Apeejay Shipping Limited, press release
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