Malaysian shipyards in record year

The ship-building and ship-repairing industry in Malaysia chalked up a commendable performance last year when exports of ships, boats, hovercrafts and floating structures rose to $945 million against $630 million in 2005. Major export destinations were Singapore ($344 million), Vietnam ($344 million) and Thailand ($76 million), said the Malaysian Industrial and Development Authority’s report on the performance of the manufacturing and services sectors in 2006.

It said the ship-building and ship-repairing industry in Malaysia was one of the core sectors in the marine transportation industry. The report said the industry had developed specialised skills and technological capabilities in engineering design, metallurgy, corrosion control, machining, welding and fabrication. Currently, there are six large shipyards involved in shipbuilding, ship repairing and metal fabrication activities in Malaysia.

The largest shipyard has the capability of building vessels of up to 30,000 dwt with the installation of 70,000 dwt ship-lift facility and repair vessels of up to 400,000 dwt.