Article Posted on : - Jun 21, 2016

VISAKHAPATNAM (PTI): Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL) on Monday said it has come out of difficulties and is hopeful of getting contracts worth Rs 20,000 crore in next five years.

The PSU which had been incurring losses for the over last three decades came out of difficulties and posted profit last year, CMD of HSL Rear Admiral L V Sarat Babu said.

The shipyard, running in the red since 1981, earned a profit of Rs 20 crore in 2015-16 and hopes to continue well in the coming years, he told reporters ahead of HSL's platinum jubilee celebrations Tuesday.

HSL is expecting orders worth Rs 20,000 crore for the construction of ships in the next five years. Some of these orders will be executed with technical support of Hyundai Shipyard of South Korea, Babu said.

Established in 1941, the city-headquartered HSL's first cargo ship 'Jala Usha" was launched by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on March 14, 1948, he said.

"During the last 75 years of its existence, the Shipyard had constructed 177 different vessels, including cargo, warships, passenger ships and tugs."

The company has also undertaken repair works of 1,950 vessels, Babu said, adding that HSL has constructed nine ships since January 2016, and will enhance its production capacity in future.

The company has orders worth Rs 1,200 crore in the current financial year, the Rear Admiral further said.

"In a major boost for both Hindustan Shipyard and the Indian Navy, submarine INS Sindhukirti successfully completed its maiden deep dive trials recently after undergoing repairs and modernisation at HSL."

"Repair-cum-upgradation of INS Sindhukirti was the first-of-its-kind exercise undertaken by an Indian shipyard with support from the Navy. It is a noteworthy achievement for Hindustan Shipyard as it emboldens the nation's will and pursuit towards the 'Make in India' campaign," Babu said.

Another submarine INS Sindhuvir will also come at HSL for partial refit work later this year.

The shipyard, working under the Ministry of Defence, has sent a proposal to the MoD seeking financial assistance of Rs 200 crore in view of losses incurred by it due to 'Hudhud' cyclone which hit the Visakhapatnam coast in October 2014, he added.