State-owned Shipping Corp of India (SCI) is in the market for a couple of secondhand or resale vessels as it tries to expand its fleet.
The Mumbai-listed owner has published two ship purchase tenders.
The first is for a VLGC of up to 15 years in age, and between 79,000 cbm and 84,000 cbm.
SCI also wants a secondhand or resale multipurpose platform supply vessel or offshore support vessel up to 10 years old.
Price offers must be made to an online portal by 12 April.
Indian demand for LPG has made the market an important one for VLGCs.
And the offshore sector has rebounded sharply on stronger construction and subsea activity.
The moves come after Indian media reported SCI was plotting a return to the secondhand market to renew the fleet.
Industry sources told the Economic Times that the company wants to add five ships in an INR 20bn ($240m) sale-and-purchase drive.
Tanker scrapped
SCI wants a VLGC, an MR tanker, a container ship bigger than 9,000 teu, a PSV and an anchor-handling tug supply vessel, according to a government official.
VesselsValue lists 66 ships in the fleet, including a VLGC built in 2001 and four PSVs.
Last month, SCI sold for recycling one of the two oldest product tankers in its fleet dating from the late 1990s.
The 32,900-dwt Suvarna Swarajya (built 1998) was sold on an “as is” basis in Colombo via a tender auction process, cash buyers said.
SCI saw earnings fall away in its third quarter on weaker tanker and liner performance.
In the three months to 31 December, net earnings slumped to INR 1.32bn, against INR 2.4bn a year ago.
Revenue was down to INR 13.4bn from INR 14.9bn.
The government is still hoping to sell its 63.75% holding in the shipowner.
