Sailing into a bright future
Mararshi Bhardwaj is the largest liquefied petroleum gas carrier in the fleet of Varun Shipping, the first Indian shipping company to acquire a very large gas carrier. |
Varun Shipping Company Ltd is one of the leading shipping companies in India, with a diversified fleet of 21 vessels.
Catering to the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), crude oil and petroleum products sectors, it is able to provide shipping solutions across the entire hydrocarbon product chain. It also services the offshore support field.
"As a company, we have enhanced our shipping and offshore services business into three sectors: offshore operations, midstream crude oil and petroleum products and shipping gas. These are "high technology" and "quality intensive" sectors.
"We transport nearly 70 percent of imported LPG into India and own over 80 percent of LPG tonnage under the Indian flag," Managing Director Yudhishthir Khatau said.
"Varun has established itself as a leading Asian player in the field of deepwater anchor handling and supply operations with three of the most powerful North Sea type anchor handlers under the Indian flag," Khatau added.
Varun has reported profits and declared dividends for each of the past 24 years.
"With about 40 percent of the revenue coming from outside India, Varun Shipping has proved itself to be globally competitive. Varun will continue to maintain its presence in India while increasing its presence in the global market." Khatau said
"We see India being a major importer of crude oil and a major exporter of refined petroleum products. Varun will play an active role in these two segments in the years to come. With further expansion into international trade, Varun will focus on acquiring younger vessels of a global standard size with designs suited for various trades and versatility," he said.
"We see the petrochemical trade between India and China as growing in the future and Varun would like to play a role in the Chinese requirements for LPG, crude oil, and offshore. We would very much appreciate joint ventures, partnerships or dialogues between Chinese shipping companies and Indian shipping companies," he said.
www.varunship.com
(China Daily 08/18/2008 page14)