Cochin Shipyard arm bags ‘notable’ order from Adani Group Company to construct three ASD Tugs

KOCHI : Cochin Shipyard Ltd. on Friday, May 31, said its wholly-owned subsidiary Udupi Cochin Shipyard (UCSL) has bagged a ‘notable’ order from an Adani Harbor Services Ltd. Company — Ocean Sparkle Ltd (OSL) — to construct three Azimuthing Stern Drive (ASD) Tugs of 70 T Bollard Pull Power. Orders in the range of ₹100 crore to ₹250 crore are classified as ‘notable’ by Cochin Shipyard.

Udupi Cochin Shipyard (UCSL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Cochin Shipyard Ltd , proudly announces on X(formerly Twitter) that securing order for three 70 T Bollard Pull Tugs for Ocean Sparkle Limited, an Adani Harbour Services Limited Company.This underscores commitment to excellence in maritime engineering.

The company said earlier, UCSL had bagged the contract to construct two 62 T bollard pull ASD tugs for OSL, which were delivered before the contractual delivery dates. The same have been deployed at Paradeep Port and New Managalore Port by OSL.

The new 70 tonne bollard pull tugs will be 33-metre-long, have a beam of 12.2 meter and draft of 4.2 meter. They will be propelled by two main engines of 1,838 kW, thrusters of 2.7 meter diameter, diesel generators of 150 kW, forward towing winch, aft winch, deck crane and external fire fighting system, the company said. It added that the tugs are designed by renowned design house for harbour tugs — Robert Allan Limited. They will be built under the Indian flag and classed with the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), the company added.

The tugs will confirm to the approved standard tug design and specifications, promulgated by the Indian government, in-line with the Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make In India initiatives, the company said, adding that UCSL is the first shipyard to contract and construct tugs confirming to the approved design and specifications.

Earlier, UCSL has also signed contracts with Polestar Maritime Limited to construct 2 ASD tugs of 70 T Bollard Pull. The first vessel ‘Konna Star’ was handed over before its delivery date and has been in operation at the Deendayal Port in Kandla. The second vessel is under construction at the UCSL yard in Malpe, Karnataka.

Cochin Shipyard took over UCSL in September 2020. The yard’s order book also includes six 3,800 deadweight dry cargo vessels for Wilson ASA, Norway.

Last week, the Cochin Shipyard reported its March quarter earnings. its net profit witnessed a 558.823% jump to ₹258.9 crore from the previous year’s ₹39.3 crore. Its revenue from operations increased 114.33% to ₹1,286 crore against ₹600 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding fiscal.

At the operating level, EBITDA jumped to ₹288.3 crore in the fourth quarter of this fiscal over a loss of ₹67.1 crore in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal. EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation.

The board also recommended a final dividend of ₹2.25 per equity share of face value of ₹5 each, for the financial year 2023-24 subject to the approval of the shareholders at the ensuing annual general meeting (AGM) of the company. The final dividend will be paid within 30 days from the AGM.

Cochin Shipyard shares ended 0.7% lower at ₹1,943.9. The stock has risen nearly 8x in the last one year.