S'pore seen remaining as ship repair center
S'pore seen remaining as ship repair center
SINGAPORE (Reuter): Takeshi Tenjin, the executive chairman of
Hitachi Zosen Singapore Ltd, said he was confident geography and
infrastructure would ensure Singapore's role as key ship repair
center, especially for tankers.
He dismissed concerns of challenges from other regional
centers like Indonesia or the Philippines, where yards remain in
infant developmental stages.
However, he did not dismiss the possibility of Hitachi looking
for an alternative repair yard to Singapore due to rising labor
costs.
Ship repairer Hitachi Zosen Singapore is expanding
shipbuilding capacity to complement its core ship repair business
and sees no need for mergers to compete with local yards, a top
official said yesterday.
"We are trying to engage more heavily on shipbuilding but
shiprepair will still be our core business," Tenjin told Reuters
in an interview.
He was unfazed by the proposed merger of two local yards --
Sembawang Corp Ltd and Jurong Shipyard Ltd.
The merged company would have more than half the market and
nine dry docks, making it one of the world's largest repair
firms. Tenjin said his strategy was different.
"The company's policy is not to be the biggest. Turnover is
not our target but to provide good, quality services to our
clients and grow from there," he said.
"I have no intention to merge or form alliances with anyone,"
he said, dispelling market rumors Hitachi, the smallest of the
Big Four yards here, would need to merge to survive the keen
competition in Singapore.
Ship repair now contributes 75-80 percent of the group's total
revenue. But Tenjin said this would change once its Singapore $15
million berth extension was completed next week.
The extension of the slipway to 230 metres (250 yards) from
127 metres (139 yards) would allow the yard to build bulk
carriers of up to 30,000 dwt.
Hitachi, a subsidiary of Osaka-based Hitachi Zosen Corp
[7004.T], is now engaged mainly in ship repair but has a building
capacity for product carriers of 7,900-9,900 tons.
"When the slipway project is completed, ship repair will
contribute about 60 percent while shipbuilding 35 percent,"
Tenjin said. The remaining five percent would come from
industrial engineering-related businesses.