Udupi Cochin Shipyard will be expanded to enhance production, generate more jobs, says Cochin Shipyard CMD

Cochin Shipyard Ltd., the parent company of Udupi Cochin Shipyard Ltd., plans to expand the Udupi facility to enhance production and generate more jobs, said CSL Chairman and Managing Director Madhu S. Nair on Monday.

Cochin Shipyard Ltd., the parent company of Udupi Cochin Shipyard Ltd., plans to expand the Udupi facility to enhance production and generate more jobs, said CSL Chairman and Managing Director Madhu S. Nair on Monday.

He was speaking to reporters after the launch of the inaugural vessel of the series of 6 General Cargo Vessels with 3,800 TDW built by UCSL for M/s. Wilson ASA, Norway, at Malpe in Udupi district. The operations, planning and design facility at Malpe, Mr. Nair said, employs around 600 people and the fabrication facility at Hangarkatte employs around 250 people.

The companies were in talks with the State government for some more land at Hangarkatte while capacity augmentation was under way at Malpe. Once the process is complete, the Malpe facility could employ around 1,000 people and the Hangarkatte about 600 people, he said. UCSL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CSL under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, also intends to improve the life of people around it through corporate social responsibility activities.

The Shipyard, UCSL Chief Executive Officer A. Harikumar said, has also been supporting MSMEs in the region. Almost all inputs for building vessels, including the marine-grade steel, were being procured locally from Mangaluru and Udupi. Besides helping growth of ancillary industries, the Yard would also offer internships and training to ITI candidates from the region, he said.

Mr. Nair said that having acquired M/s Tebma Shipyards Ltd., that had run into rough weather through the National Company Law Tribunal, Chennai, in September 2020, CSL used its goodwill to bring a turnaround for the Udupi Yard within about four years. Through its association with the Norway shipbuilding industry for many years, CSL could get orders for six 3,800 TDW cargo vessels and eight 6,300 TDW cargo vessels, he said. Also, the company was able to win orders for 70T bollard pull tugs through competitive bidding for the domestic market, Mr. Nair added.

The CMD said both CSL and UCSL were working towards realising the vision 2047 of bringing India under the top 10 shipbuilding countries in the world.

Martine Aamdal Bottheim, Minister Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi, and Einar Tornes, Chief Financial Officer of Wilson ASA, were present.