Pipavav, India’s biggest shipyard, reopens
Pipavav Shipyard, on India’s west coast, is set to reopen (Source: SKIL Infrastructure Ltd.)
After several years of being mothballed following bankruptcy, India’s Pipavav Shipyard, now majority co-owned by Mumbai’s Swan Energy Ltd, is marking its re-entry into operation with work on an Indian Coastguard Vessel.
An Indian conglomerate, Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited (RDEL), took control of the yard in 2016 after a debt restructuring and renamed it to Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd (R-Naval). But after the cancellation of a naval frigate contract worth USD 3 billion, and the taking on of an estimated USD 1.2 billion in debt, the yard was unable to avoid bankruptcy in 2019.
According to local press reports, work is now underway to dredge accumulated silt from the yard’s access channels to allow its lock gates to reopen. The yard, India’s largest, is equipped with a 600-tonnes crane and 662x65m drydock, 295m of which is earmarked for shiprepair. Covering some 104 hectares, it is home to fabrication, painting, piping and painting shops. As well, it features a 350m-dual-berthing quay for afloat repairs and commissioning.
Pipavav is in talks over a contract worth several hundred million dollars to construct a series of bulk carrier newbuilds, according to India’s Business Times.
