Bangladesh shipyard looks to joining world-beaters
Order for eight sea-going vessels spears drive to become global player

With shipbuilding berths getting ever scarcer in the leading shipbuilding countries like China and South Korea, a market is emerging for shipyards that can concentrate on smaller  sea-going vessels as the leaders go for the larger container ships, bulkers and tankers.

Now emerges a surprising competitor in the small to medium ocean-going vessel market, a shipyard that until now many of you will never heard of. Indeed their country is best known for scrapping ships, not building them!

Ananda Shipyards & Slipways Ltd, of Bangladesh no less, is pinning its hopes on a significant contract that could propel Bangladesh into the mainstream of shipbuilding.

Traditionally this yard supplied small craft, such as river ferries and wooden boats, but now, it is starting to emerge as a competitor to better known small and medium sized yards with contracts for vessels for European owners.

On Thursday 26th April 2007 they agreed a contract with German shipping firms Komrowski Maritime and Navalis, to provide no less than 8 container vessels, each carrying 325 TEUs

Already the firm is constructing 2,900 DWT multi-purpose container ships for Danish firm CS & Partnere's Skibsinvest. The second of these for the Danish firm had its keel laid on 22nd November 2006. (see picture)

It is being said that the order for the German companies constitutes the biggest export order by Bangladesh ever.

ASSL's managing director is hopeful that this contract will act as a confidence booster in Bangladesh's emergence as a builder of ocean-going ships.

The two German firms had approached Chinese shipwards, but no slots were available to them for the vessels they required.