Mercator Lines outlines Rs4000 crore for expansion plans

11 Apr 2008

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Mumbai: India's second largest private shipping firm, Mercator Lines has earmarked an investment of Rs4,000 crore to buy dredgers and dry bulk cargo carriers, as part of its expansion plan, the company reported.

The company expects to raise 75 per cent of the fund through loans from banks and financial institutiion.

The company plans to acquire new dredgers from Europe and would place orders to buy more dry cargo vessels to add to its existing fleet of bulk carriers, a company official stated.

Explaining the rationale behind entering the dredging business, the official said, "There is a huge scope for dredging in Southeast Asia because lots of ports are coming up and the existing ports want to deepen to attract bigger ship."

In 2007, the shipping firm  entered the dredging business by investing Rs400 crore to purchase of three second-hand dredgers  and also placed an order for one more dredger from China. The dredgers are currently deployed with the Dredging Corporation of India.

The company also acquired four dry bulk vessels, through its subsidiary Mercator Lines (Singapore) Pte Ltd. (Also see: Mercator Lines to acquire 4 dry bulk carriers)

Boosted by a strong income from operations in 2007, the company would not have any problems raising  75 per cent of Rs 4,000 crore fund through loans, the official added

Since its inception in 1983, Mercator Lines Ltd has established itself as one of the leading firms in the marine transportation business. The shipping firm has a strong presence in areas such as dredging, offshore, tankers and bulk cargo.

The company has grown in terms of turnovers, profits and market capitalisation and it's shares are listed on the BSE and the NSE.

The shipping firms capacity in terms of tonnage has grown from 400 DWT in 1994 to about 23,40,838 in 2008.

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