Varun Shipping to buy new vessels

Mumbai-based Varun Shipping Co Ltd plans to invest $300 million to buy at least four new vessels in the offshore segment this year, a top official said at a recent conference.

Varun, which derived around 63% of its revenue from oil & gas carriers in 2007/08, is positioning itself to expand its presence in the offshore segment. “We are looking at offshore as an area of growth. More and more money is going into deep water exploration because cost of crude oil has gone up. So, it has become more viable,” Khatau said.

Varun, which owns five offshore vessels and 16 oil & gas and product carriers, sees strong growth in 2008/09 on revenues from its oil and gas and offshore businesses, Khatau said.