60 YEARS OF THE SHIPPING CORPORATION OF INDIA
Last year marked the 60th anniversary of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), a state-controlled entity formed through the merger of the earlier established Eastern Shipping Corporation and Western Shipping Corporation on 2 October 1961. This year the Mumbai-based company, which currently operates a fleet of 60 ships aggregating 3,020,850gt and 5,458,685dwt, is expected to be privatised.
Three companies have emerged to take over the Indian government’s 63.75 per cent share in the line. These include US-based Safesea, a New Jersey-headquartered shipping company started by Indian- born businessman SV Anchan; Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure, a diversified group with interests in oil drilling, construction and aviation; and the UKbased Foresight Group, which is bidding within a consortium that includes Dubai-based GMS, the world’s leading buyer of obsolete vessels for demolition, and Belgium’s Exmar, although the latter company may drop out.
For ship enthusiasts, SCI is best known for its history of passenger ship services in the Indian Ocean region, as well as its management of vessels trading to
