Stella Moon, made in Bangladesh(Chittagong, Bangladesh ), Bangladeshi made Stella Moon, a container ship, was delivered to Denmark on Saturday. In 2008 Bangladesh supplied the first ocean going ship to an international buyer. And it was the Danish Stella Shipping who made history by buying a multipurpose vessel of 2.900 DWT produced at the local yard Ananda.

We took a chance by producing our first ship, Stella Maris, in Bangladesh as opposed to Vietnam for example. But after a few visits to Bangladesh we were confident that our local partner was up to the task, and with support from Danida?s B2B program we planned a number training programmes at the yard?, says CEO of Stella Shipping, Jan Fabricius.

It has not been an easy task to build a ship in Bangladesh, according to Jan Fabricius. The industry needs time to learn how to do business internationally. There are simple procedures and agreements that are not established in the local way of doing business. But this will come and overall Stella Shipping is satisfied with the actual construction and quality of the ships, according to Jan Fabricius.

We have not regretted our choice and pioneer work in Bangladesh. The quality of the ships already delivered is first-rate and moreover, our analysis shows that we saved 10-15% of the cost by building the ship in Bangladesh compared to e.g. Vietnam.? affirms CEO, Jan Fabricius.

Shipping minister Shahjahan Khan and Abdullah Hel Bari, chairman of Ananda Shipyard, one of the leading shipbuilders of Bangladesh, officially handed over the ship.

Captain Michael Sorensen of Stella Shipping accepted it on behalf of the Danish company.

Stella Moon, with a capacity of 29,000 tonnes, is 81.35 metres long and 13.15 metres wide. The $7.5 million (Tk 52 crore) ship was the second cargo manufactured for Denmark, , Ananda’s administration manager Mosharraf Hossain told e-New.
The Bangladeshi company earlier exported six cargo ships to Mozambique, and 12 more cargo ships are being manufactured.

Shipbuilding as a promising industry With a vast network of rivers Bangladesh is a sailing nation where transport buy ship is an essential part of the transport system in the country. There are more than 180 shipyards in the country most of which are involved in production and maintenance of relatively small transport ships. A small number of yards builds larger vessels of up to 6-7.000DWT for domestic transport and military use.

Bangladesh has thus a very long tradition in shipbuilding, but the country has not managed to make use of this advantage internationally.

However, the government decided in 2007/08 to make shipbuilding a focus area. Accordingly, the government initiated a ?Green Channels? programme, which eases import and export of components. Furthermore, the industry has been given a ?Tax Holiday? making all new investments tax-free. Additionally, a number of initiatives to ease the financing of ships are under way.

The government focus and the proven ability in the sector has now led to Stella Shipping not being the only international shipbuilder in the country. German, Dutch and Finish consortium have placed orders of 23 ships from Ananda and Western Marine.

21st of May 2009, the second ship ordered by Stella Shipping, Stella Moon, was launched. Stella Shipping has in addition two ships on the production line at Ananda shipyard and additionally five ships will be supplied by a competing shipyard, Western Marine, in the southern part of the country.

Ananda Group, in Joint Venture with Dutch shipbreaker

Shipbuilding company Ananda Group in Bangladesh signed an agreement with Greendock BV, a Dutch company specialising in ship recycling, for establishing multipurpose yards for repairing and recycling ships.

Ananda Group??s chairman, Abdullahel Bari, and Greendock??s president, Doebren Mulder, signed the agreement to develop a combination wharf in Chittagong to repair and dismantle ships as well as to build large vessels up to Panamax size at the same location.

With support from Greendock, the Ananda Group will introduce the latest technology for the safe dismantling of vessels in order to achieve a zero accident rate and reduce pollution. Greendock developed a ship recycling facilities concept to dismantle large sea going vessels in a safe, environmentally sound and efficient manner by using a technology for which a worldwide patent has been applied for. Ananda will be the first to introduce this new technology and the total ship recycling project is estimated to cost 50 million Euros, including a waste incinerator to change waste into energy.

Currently, old ships are broken on beaches in a very unscientific and unsafe manner which causes many fatal accidents and creates severe pollution problems. The Supreme Court in Bangladesh has recently imposed restrictions on importing ships which are not declared environmentally safe by the countries of origin.

In the first stage of the project, Greendock will conduct a feasibility study on the requirements for of ship recycling industries. Mulder said that Greendock is able to dismantle about 24 vessels a year and selected Bangladesh because it is much more competitive than its rivals, including China and India, in the ship breaking industry.

Bari said that the Ananda Group will be focusing on ship building and ship repairing using Greendock??s technology. ??Ship breaking will be a bonus,?? he said. Ananda Group has so far exported seagoing vessels to Denmark, the Netherlands and Mozambique. It has orders in hand for three seagoing vessels from Germany and an oil tanker, tug boat and crane vessel for Bangladesh

About Ananda Group.

Ananda Group is a leading business corporate having versatile operations in various segment of business such as Shipbuilding, Textile, Poly propylene Woven bag mills, Land development, Railway engineering, Information technology, Marine design and consultancy. From the very onset the management of the group has consistently tried to address the need of the people of Bangladesh and economy within its defined capacity. Ananda management believes in people empowerment through knowledge and skill development. In line with that policy Ananda has always been venturing into such businesses which would create knowledge based skill nourishment and add to the foreign reserve to the exchequer of Bangladesh. The group has started its journey in the year of 1983 with its first company Ananda builder Ltd by Dr. Abdullahel Bari, a Naval Architect and Marine Engineer by profession, and his spouse Mrs. Afruja Bari. Over the years through the pair?s dedication and hard work along with Ananda Family, the group has grown in size and capital with new acquisition of engineering and manufacturing enterprises. Ananda always wants to be at the leading edge in terms of technology, idea and vision. The group believes in maximising the economy of scale by turning profit into more industrial ventures and products. In view of that Ananda does continual market research to dip in untapped business opportunities which may encourage healthy competition, more employment and establishment of allied linkage industries.

Ananda Builders, an engineering firm, established a shipbuilding yard on the Buriganga River in 1983. With growing volume of business the yard was shifted in 1985 to its present location on the river Meghna, an hour’s drive from the capital city Dhaka.

Ananda Builders Ltd. modernized and systemized its operations by enhancing facilities and segregating shipbuilding activities under a separate banner, ANANDA SHIPYARD & SLIPWAYS LTD. (ASSL), a family owned company limited by shares incorporated in 1999 drawing in first and second generation members.

ASSL, now the largest shipyard in the private sector in Bangladesh and is the flagship in Ananda Group of nine companies & industries.

Production area of ASSL is 80,000 sq. meter of which 20,000 sq. meter is covered. Shipbuilding halls are fitted with EOTs and Slipways are aided by a Gantry cranes. A workforce of more than 1100 in various sections led by 96 qualified managers, executives and engineers produce reasonably modern quality vessels. The inhouse computer aided design office provides designs/drawings to the shipyard. Yard’s annual production capacity is about 30,000 tonnes in terms of consumed steel and turnover per year is US$ 14.00 million.

The quality of the works has been certified by reputed classification societies & inspection agencies. In terms of equipment, manpower & experience the shipyard now ranks among the top shipyards in South Asia.

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