Indian state-owned steelmaker Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has signed an agreement with Shipping Corporation of India Limited (SCI) forming a joint venture with equal shares.
According to a statement by SAIL, the joint venture company (JVC) will primarily take care of SAIL's shipping needs by owning and operating ships. The JVC, which will be registered in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal province, and which will initially cater to around one million mt of SAIL's imported cargo annually, will be expanded subsequently.
SAIL's current imports of around 10 million mt of coking coal per annum are expected to double in view of the company's ongoing expansion plan. The shipping JVC, which is already in the process of acquiring new vessels, would enable SAIL to have control over part of its coking coal supply chain.