Tough times boost Bangladesh shipbuilding

“Top global shipbuilders are not interested in making smaller vessels that weigh less than 20,000 dead weight tonnage because of high labor cost and shrinking profit.”

If this trend continues, Bangladesh, with its experience of building vessels to traverse the delta nation, could emerge as a shipbuilding hub.

“Shipbuilding is in our blood. Our workers have been building boats for centuries and now tens of thousands of them work in shipyards across Asia,” said Khabirul Haque Chowdhury, a naval architecture professor at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Training.

He said that unlike the controversial shipbreaking industry, shipbuilding is environmentally safe, and could help the poor nation of 144 million people become a middle income country.

“Building ships is like building a city. When it grows, dozens of other industrial sectors such as painting, furniture, steel and electrical equipment also grow,” he said.

The program coordinator of the Danish Embassy's business-to-business program, Morten Lynge, said European companies that placed the first orders in 2007 took a huge gamble, but it appeared to have paid off and the industry was showing big potential for the future.

“We have estimated that some 55 percent of the world's small ships are aged over 20 years, meaning they need to be replaced within the next few years. I think Bangladesh will be the largest beneficiary,” said Lynge, who is hosting 23 Danish vessel makers in Bangladesh next month to explore joint ventures.

Although Bangladesh has so far been largely immune to the effects of the global economic crisis, the shipbuilding business has felt a small slowdown with a German firm canceling orders for four ships worth US$42 million.

“We can win back the orders once the global economy turns around,” said Ananda Shipbuilders owner Abdullahel Bari.

“Western companies will definitely come here. Bangladesh will be a major shipbuilder,” he said, but he warned the government needed to invest in gas and electricity for the potential to be realized.

Subhash Moydey, an engineer who has recently returned to Bangladesh after 30 years working at yards across the globe, is optimistic.

“When I started in Singapore it was a small business. Until the economic crisis it was booming,” the 55-year-old said.

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