Shipping Corp of India Ltd (SCI) has decided to wait and watch before going through with any plans to acquire vessels as it hopes for prices to drop further owing to the financial crisis, chairman and managing director S Hajara said on the sidelines of the Annual International Business Meet on Saturday.
The company had formulated a plan to acquire 62 vessels, which included bulk carriers, crude tankers, product tankers, container vessels, chemical carriers and offshore supply vessels, for the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-12).
“We planned to acquire four cape-sized vessels for $93 million in October, but did not conclude the deal owing to the drastic change in the economic scenario,” Hajara said.
SCI is thinking of acquiring dredgers.
The company will deliver three ships this year, out of the 40 that are to be delivered by 2012. Tankers comprise 80% of the total.
Hajara said SCI registered a 37% growth in revenue at Rs 523 crore during the first quarter of 2008-09.