- The Great Eastern Shipping Co Ltd has overtaken Shipping Corporation of India Ltd (SCI) to become India’s biggest ship owner by fleet size.
- It ceded the higher market capitalisation slot to SCI as its scrip galloped in the run-up to the issue of expression of interest for the privatisation of the state-run carrier.
SCI has been ranked India’s biggest ship owner by fleet size for years, says an article published on The Hindu Business Line.
Market Cap
Despite having a higher share price, the market cap of Great Eastern Shipping is lower than SCI mainly because of the lesser number of equity shares – 14,69,66,484 to SCI’s 46,57,99,010.
SCI’s 59 ships translate into a total tonnage of 5.29 million dead weight tonnes (DWT), representing 35 per cent of India’s total tonnage. DWT refers to the cargo carrying capacity of a ship.
In comparison, Great Eastern’s 69 ships have a tonnage of 3.86 million DWT (excluding the four oil drilling rigs), accounting for a 25 per cent share of the country’s shipping tonnage. SCI’s fleet of 59 ships includes two container ships, 13 crude oil carriers, 15 dry bulk carriers, one liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) / ammonia carrier, ten off-shore supply vessels, 13 product carriers and five very large crude carriers.
Second-hand market
Unlike SCI, the Great Eastern Shipping is very active in the second-hand sale-purchase market, buying nine ships since FY18 and selling seven ships for further trading/scrapping.
“Despite having greater financial freedom that comes with its ‘navratna’ status, SCI has stayed clear of buying second-hand ships for various reasons, one of which is to avoid the glare of the government auditor,” a shipping industry executive said.
SCI has purchased just three ships since FY18, incidentally all second-hand ships, for the first time. The last ship to be added to its fleet was a very large gas carrier in September 2017.
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Source: The Hindu Business Line
