Cochin Shipyard on Monday signed an agreement with French technology company Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) for its maiden foray into liquefied natural gas (lNG) shipbuilding.
GTT, which holds patented technology for lNG ships, will give designs, engineering and supervision for building of the cryogenic carriers that transport natural gas frozen in its liquid form (lNG).
Cochin Shipyard has already tied up with Korea’s Samsung to bid for state gas utility GAIl India ltd’s $7 billion tender for nine lNG ships, one-third of which have to necessarily be built at domestic shipyards.
Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said the technological tie-up will give a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make-in-India initiative that seeks to boost local manufacturing and create jobs.
After this agreement, Cochin Shipyard will get a licence from GTT to manufacture ships. Besides assisting in designing, procurement and construction, GTT will also supervise the building of the lNG carrier at the Indian shipyard and also give guarantee for performance of the ship.
This will enable Cochin Shipyard to qualify to bid for the GAIl tender. Since Indian shipyards do not have lNG technology, a clause in the GAIl tender sought performance guarantee from shipbuilders.
Talking to the media after a pact signing, Gadkari said as part of the ‘Make in India’ programme, government is keen that one-third of the ships required by GAIl are built in India and Cochin Shipyard would be able to participate in the tender.
“It is the dream of the Prime Minister to make these (lNG) ships in India and particularly Cochin Shipyard now has all the capability after getting licence from GTT France. We feel the award of this licence by GTT is a major achievement in Make in India and will have far-reaching impact,” he said.