Local firms to make deep-sea fishing vessels

Md Sakhawat Hossain, managing director of Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, and A Rouf Chowdhury, managing director of Fishers Shipyard Ltd, exchange documents after signing a deal in Dhaka recently. Under a joint venture, the two companies will build fishing trawler with 350 tonnes capacity. Photo: WESTERN MARINE

After entering the global shipbuilding industry, Bangladesh now aims at making international standard deep-sea fishing vessels with an eye on export.
Two local businesses -- Western Marine Shipyard Ltd and Fishers Shipyard Ltd -- have recently signed a 50:50 partnership deal to make such vessels with capacities up to 350 tonnes.
The joint-venture deal, entrepreneurs said, would open a new chapter by enhancing capacity of the shipbuilders in the country that will also be able to cut import dependence.
A Rouf Chowdhury, managing director of Fishers Shipyard Ltd, and Md Sakhawat Hossain, managing director of Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, signed the partnership deal on behalf of their organisations.
Officials of these organisations said the venture would encourage sustainable fishing in the deep sea.
“We are going to make international standard fishing trawlers for the first time in Bangladesh,” said Hossain of Western Marine, which has so far won around $200 million orders for making 24 vessels for the buyers including from Germany.
The MD of Western Marine said the new venture would help meet the domestic demand.
Bangladeshi fishermen now import deep-sea trawlers from countries such as Japan and Thailand.
At present nearly 200 deep-sea trawlers are operating to catch shrimp, pomfret, snapper and tongue sole in the Bay of Bengal.
Stakeholders said almost all these trawlers are imported and have become very old.
Hossain said many of these old trawlers would need to be replaced by new ones within the next five to 10 years.
“Our initiative will help cut import dependence and save foreign currencies,” he said. “We will make trawlers following the European standards.”
Hossain also said they would be able to make modern deep-sea fishing trawlers at lower cost, giving those a competitive edge over the imported ones.
The official said Tk 25 crore-Tk 30 crore is needed to import a fishing vessel of 300-400 tonnage capacity.
“We will be able to make such deep-sea vessels at 20 percent lower cost.”
“Our main target is to explore the global market,” said Amanullah Chowdhury, managing director of Sea Fishers Group that owns Fishers Shipyard Ltd.
Md Saiful Islam, chairman of Western Marine Shipyard, was also present at the signing programme.