Chowgule Shipyards delivers first vessel to Wijnne & Barends amid pandemic

Chowgule Group-owned Shipyards on Monday said it has delivered a general cargo vessel to a Dutch client, making it the first company to export ship since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. The vessel, which is 98.2 metre in length overall, 13.4 metre in breadth moulded, 7.8 metre in depth and has a draft of 5.6 metre, sailed on Monday from Goa on her maiden voyage, the ship maker said in a release.

This is the third from a series of six vessels ordered by the Netherlands-based Wijnne & Barends, and the shipyard is proud to build Ice Class Swedish Finnish 1A quality vessels for the world market, first of its kind from India, it added.

The company said it has exported 29 vessels from India so far.

“We are proud to be the first in India to achieve this feat since the COVID-19 pandemic. Our team worked relentlessly towards building the vessel before the set timeline and ensured that its delivery is not affected despite the pandemic,” said Arjun Chowgule, Executive Director, Chowgule & Company Pvt Ltd.

In the absence of OEM service engineers due to COVID-19 restrictions, the company’s team performed the tasks of commissioning equipment themselves, supported remotely by original equipment manufacturers, he said.

“This achievement reiterates our focus on being a serious player in the international shipbuilding market. We will continue to work on delivering such world-class vessels in the future too, in line with our Prime Minister’s vision of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’,” Chowgule added.

The company has two shipbuilding facilities at Loutulim and Rassaim, and a large storing space at Verna in Goa. These facilities produced over 177 different vessels over decades.

Chowgule and Company entered the export market in 2005, and currently has 29 of its (multi-purpose) MPP cargo carrier vessels sailing with European clients on international voyages, it said in the release.

It also recently announced its partnership with Denmark’s Tuco Marine Group for manufacturing advanced patrol boats in India.