Dockyard builds largest ship
India no threat to Lanka’s ship building - Dockyard CEO:
Harshini Perera
Sri Lanka should not consider India as a threat any longer but an
opportunity to earn foreign income to the country. One such instance in
the history of ship building
Colombo Dockyard, MD, CEO,
Mangala P.B. Yapa |
is about to be unravelled by the Colombo Dockyard PLC, as it has
constructed the first and the largest passenger vessel on the request of
Indian Government, Colombo Dockyard PLC, Managing Director, CEO, Mangala
P.B. Yapa told Daily News Business.
‘The Arabian Sea’ will be the first and the largest sea going
passenger vessel constructed in Sri Lanka for the international market
that can carry 250 passengers cum 100 tons of cargo capacity.
It will be handed over to the Central Government of India early this
year.
The vessel has a contract value of Rs. 2,023 million. The vessel will
float from India to Lakshadveep which is an union territory belonging to
India.
‘Arabian Sea’ will be the first among the two ships that was
undertaken by the CDPLC for construction, he said.
The CDPLC has been able to complete the construction before on the
due date of January 2, 2010. The CDPLC has been able to complete the
target period.
It was the first passenger vessel and the most complexed vessel
constructed by CDPLC.
Lakshadveep has a population of 70,000 and it is world’s pristine
tourists’ destination. Since the CDPLC caters to the infrastructure
facilities required by the Central Government of India, it has assured
the highest safety measures required by the owners. The vessel consisted
with different classes while the accommodation facilities and comforts
are assured to the requirements of the passengers, he said.
He said that the preliminary design of the vessel is completed by
Larsen and Toubro Limited., whereas the integration and construction was
completed by the CDPLC.
The ship Arabian Sea at the Dockyard |
“During the process of the vessel building we have complied with the
standard requirement by the Indian Register of Shipping as well as the
Lloyd Register of Shipping.
Therefore, the vessel is built for the requirement of the owner as
well as the international requirements.
Apart from that, it meets the requirement of the Government of India
especially the Safety of the Life at Sea (SOLAS) and International
Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements adhered by India,” he said.
The second ship underconstruction at the CDPLC dry dock will be
completed in May for the transport facilities in the union territory of
Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India.
He said that this will tie the relationship between the two countries
and Sri Lanka can be the foreign exchange earner. It has explicitly
highlighted the quality of workmanship, construction and competitiveness
of the CDPLC among the other dockyards in the region, he said.
“This assignment was passed on to us by a tender with special
requirements of India such as the passenger capacity, speed and cargo
capacity. The Arabian Sea has the SOLAS requirements qualified to sail
all over the world,” CDPLC, Assistant Projects and Engineering Manager
(Design), Lal Hettiarachchi told Daily News Business.
“We had to comply with the stringent requirements because it carries
passengers who are not familiar with the sea. The owners according to
the required standards did the final inspection. The level of redundancy
is high and has many alternative options since many of the passengers
are not accustomed to sea fairing,” CDPLC, Special Projects Manager,
Shantha Ratnayake told Daily News Business. |