Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) has invited bids for acquiring two container vessels with 5,000 TEU (twenty feet equivalent unit) capacity. The last date for submitting technical bids is October 12. SCI has already been given a Cabinet approval to procure these vessels.

The air draft of the ship should be suitable to enter the US container terminals and ports. Vessel shall be designed to carry ISO standard dry cargo containers of 20 feet, 40 feet and 45 feet length and of 8 feet 6 inches and 9 feet 6 inches height.

SCI has also extended the last date for technical bid submission for acquisition of four Panamax size bulk carriers to September 14. For this tender, August 31 was the last date for the shipyards to submit their technical qualification bids, through which SCI aims to acquire 75,000 dead weight tonnage (DWT) bulk carriers. However, the prospective bidders requested for about two-three more weeks for due diligence. The vessels to be procured have to be designed as single hull Panamax size bulk carriers that can be used for unrestricted ocean-going service worldwide.

During 2007-08, SCI plans to place orders for 31 vessels. The expenditure for this fiscal is estimated at Rs 1280.71 crore, while the total value of vessels would be much higher. The total value for the vessel construction would be paid over the next few years till the vessel is delivered to SCI.

So far, in the current fiscal, SCI has placed orders for construction of six vessels, which would be delivered from September 2010 to April 2011. Earlier, SCI has also placed orders for construction of 12 vessels which would be delivered from October 2008 to July 2010.