Western Marine Shipyard

The mother company, Western Marine Services, was initially formed by a group of marine professionals specialized in ship repairing and the export of marine supplies.[3] Gradually the company developed as a shipbuilder with its own shipyard, in the year 2000; with over 1.5 acres of land for building inland vessels. Today Western Marine Shipyard is one of the biggest shipbuilders in the country, standing with over 42 acres of land, modernized into a shipyard consisting of all sorts of tech & heavy machinery. Sitting in the Eastern Bank of the Karnaphuli river in Chittagong, it is an employment source for 3500 people; including skilled and semi skilled labors. More than five hundred marine professionals are also working in the shipyard. Including marine experts, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, naval architects & experts in other fields.[3] Today, being Bangladesh's largest shipyard, it owns 89 percent of the countries shipbuilding market and has exported most than 31 vessels to over 12 countries around the world.[7] The yard also has signed a MoU with the Chittagong Dry Dock in order to aid the CDD with developing heavy steel engineering capabilities and provide them necessary technical support.[8] Additionally, Western Marine is constructing 20 class certified cargo vessels for local company Evergreen Shipping Line; this deal is considered to be Bangladesh's largest ship order contract in terms of quantity of ships.[9] On 16 June 2019, Captain Sohail Hasan took over as Managing Director (MD) of the company, as was decided by the board of directors.[10][11]

The shipyard utilizes workshops, logistical resources, and equipment for the building of their ships. The yard stands over 42 acres of land, and employs a workforce of over 3500 all together.[6]

The following are some of the shipyard's facilities:[6]

• Design house
• Bonded warehouse
• Blasting shop
• CNC (Computer Numerical Control) shop
• Bending shop
• Mechanical and Carpentry shop
• Fabrication yard and shed
• Painting shop
• 5 slipways
• Heavy lifting equipment
  • Gantry crane
  • Mobile hydraulic crane
  • Barge mounted crane
  • etc.
• Healthcare facilities
• etc.

In its early days, the yard faced many difficulties in promoting and maintaining safety standards. During the period, around 2011, there were 1000 injuries a month; injuries including electrical shock, eye injuries, hearing damage, etc.[12] In conjunction with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Western Marine set itself to analyze the risks and hazards their workers faced. This was the first partnership of this kind in Bangladesh, using private sector infrastructure for the provision of public health services.[12] Through this, strict reporting procedures were established, and training was provided for managers and workers; including annual firefighting training.[2] Today, with the addition of new services and procedures, Western Marine has seen a 99% reduction in accidents. Because of this, they were given the OHSAS 18001 certificate from Bureau Veritas.[13]

The shipyard contains a PHCC (Primary Health Care Center), which was created in coordination with the GIZ and the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. In this free of charge facility, shipyard workers are given tests for their hearing, their lungs, and total physical checkups. This facility is always available for use, and workers can receive aid and treatment whenever, and as fast as necessary. The government Health Ministry provides a nurse in addition to the doctor and paramedics that are provided by the shipyard. This facility is also accessible to the local community, where more than 30,000 people, including many of the workers and their families, live.[13]

Importantly, the workers and other personnel are given precautionary equipment when on the yard grounds. This equipment includes:

• Safety helmet (hardhat)
• Boiler suit
• Protective gloves
• Safety goggles
• Safety lamps (for use within enclosed spaces)
• Fire extinguishers throughout the yard
• Firefighting hydrants and hoses throughout the yard
• Breathing apparatus when necessary
• Safety harnesses and belts
• Ear plugs
• Dust masks
• Safety boots

Western Marine Shipyard has received two certificates from Bureau Veritas; one is OHSAS 18001 for health & safety & ISO 14001 for environment.[14] They also received the ISO 9001 certificate from Germanischer Lloyd for quality. This has made them the only IMS (Integrated Management System) certified company in Bangladesh.[15]

Furthermore, WMS has received a number of awards; including the 2016 Bangladeshi President's Award for Industrial Development (in the Hi-Tech industries category),[16] the 8th HSBC Export Excellence Award,[17] the Gold National Export Trophy for the 2010-2011 financial year,[18] and the World Maritime Day Award in 2007.[19]

Western Marine Shipyard exported 31 ships to various countries of the world (Finland, Germany, Pakistan, Denmark, Tanzania, Uganda, Ecuador, New Zealand, Gambia, Kenya, India, UAE, etc.)[18] and brought around US$151 Million of remittance.[7] The yard has built more than 60 ships which includes ocean going multi purpose cargo vessels, passenger vessels & boats, oil tankers, ro-ro ferries, pontoons, barges, fishing trawlers, dredgers, tug boats, container vessels, and more, with further plans to export more than $250 million worth of ships.[20] Western Marine operates in conjunction with classification societies through the entire building and testing process of new vessels. The yard has worked with Bureau Veritas, DNV-GL, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK),[2] and Lloyd's Register[21] to insure class built ships for their buyers.

A few of Western Marine's completed vessels.

Bay Cleaner - 2[22] Built for Chittagong Port Authority, Bangladesh. Type: Oily Waste Collection Vessel Length OA: 25.00m Breadth moulded: 6.80m Depth: 4.10m Capacity: Waste oil storage- 150 cbm Fresh water- 30cbm+ Fuel oil- 40 cbm+ Lube oil- 3cbm+ 12 knots Speed Class: Germanischer Lloyd Class Notation: 100A5 RSA (50), + MC Design: Foreship Ltd., Helsinki, Finland Propulsion engine: 2 X 500 HP (Volvo Penta, Sweden)

FT Agro Food Fleet of 3[23] Built for Sea Resources Ltd. Type: Fishing trawler Year built: Aug 2013 Length X Breadth X Depth: 42.00m X 11.00m X 4.70m Fish holding capacity: 300 tons Pulling Capacity: 26 tons 10 knots speed Design: Western Marine Shipyard Ltd., Bangladesh Engine Power: 1850 BHP Generator: 800 KW

Grona Shipping Ice Class Fleet of 8[24] Built for Grona Shipping GmbH, Germany. Type: Multipurpose cargo Year built: March 2011 Dimension: 99.99m X 13.50m X 9.10m Ice Class: E3 Cargo capacity: 5200 DWT Light Weight Tonnage: 1500MT Speed: 12 knots Class: Germanischer Lloyd Design: Peters Finance BV, Netherlands Propulsion engine: MAK 6M25C

MV Mataliki[25] Built for Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade, New Zealand. Type: SOLAS Passenger ship Length OA: 44.32m (appx) Length BP: 38.56m (appx) Breadth MLD: 9.90m (appx) Design draft: 2.60m Depth to weather deck: 4.10m Depth to deck & atside deck: 6.60m Water ballast: 90m3 Grey water: 3m3 (min) Fresh water: 40m3 10 feet container: 5 NTS Break bulk cargo area: 40m2 Service speed on design draft: 11.50 knots (85% MCR) Engine power: 2 X 480 kW Shaft generator: 2 X 150 kW Aux Engine: 1 X 110 kW Emergency genset: 1 X 80 kW Cargo crane: 3.6 tons @ 12m outreach Passengers (international service): 60 Crew: 10 + Senior Officers: 2 Class: Lloyd's Register

ISEFJORD[26] Built for Hundested-Rorvig Faergefart A/S, Denmark Type: Ro-ro ferry Class: Bureau Veritas Designer: Jorgen Petersen Ltd & Norman Marine, Denmark Length OA: 51.00m Length BP: 50.49m Breadth moulded: 11.60m Depth moulded: 3.40m Gross tonnage: 475 Draught: 2.25m Deadweight: 165 tons Lightweight: 469.65 tons Service Speed: 11 knots @ 85% mcr Max speed: 14 knots Output: 375 kW each 1800rpm Crew: 2 Passenger: 147 Cabins: 1 X Enclosed Passenger Lounge, 1 X Open Passenger Area, 2 X cabins for crew Number of vehicle decks: One Total lane length: 48m Number: 24 cars & 2 trucks Unmanned Engine room Operable with one crew

Isla Bartolomé[27] Built for Transnave, an Ecuadorian Navy Company. Type: Multipurpose cargo Year built: 2012 LOA X B(mid) X D :88.04MX 15.00M X 7.50m Draught: 6.00m Ice Class: E3 Cargo Capacity: 3,831 DWT Cargo Hold: 5187CBM Cargo Crane: 2 x 60 Tons Engine: Wartsilla 9I26a2 (2999 kW @1000 RPM) Speed: 13.5 knots Designer: Hunte Engineering, Germany Class: Germanischer Lloyd The ship was inaugurated by President Rafael Correa while it was added to the Ecuadorian Navy Fleet on 9 September 2015.[28]

OPV Doria[29] Built for JGH Marine A/S, Denmark; operated by Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries, Kenya Type: Offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Length OA: 54.7 Length BP: 50.90m Depth: 4.50m Displacement: 350 tons Draft molded: 2.20m Lightweight: 500 tons Service speed: 22 knots Max speed: 35 knots Range: 1500 nautical miles Daily fuel consumption: 3.6 tons/day (Incl. electrical load) Class: Bureau Veritas Two engines: one for Controllable Pitch propeller & one for Waterjet propulsion Output: 2X4000kW for CPP & 2720 kW for Waterjet Helipad with bridge control Hybrid propulsion unit (CPP+Waterjet) Gearbox: ZF, Germany Propulsion Maker: Servogear AS, Norway Waterjet: MJP, Sweden This vessel also received the 'Best Large Patrol Boat Builder' award in 2017 by Baird Maritime, a highly reputed maritime publication platform that records deliveries of high-end patrol boats throughout the globe.[7]

Jindal Steel Works (JSW) Fleet of 4[30] Built for Jindal Steel Works, India. Type: Bulk carrier Length OA: 122.25 m Length BP: 117.10 m Breadth MLD: 20.00 m Depth MLD: 07.20m Deadweight: 8,000 DWT Gross Tonnage: 6000 T Trial speed (loaded): 10 knots Fuel consumption: approx.196 gm/kwhr Engine Power:1330 kW @ 900 RPM, Yanmar, Japan Class: Indian Register of Shipping (IRS)

Western Cruise[31] Built for Chittagong Boat Club, Bangladesh. Type: Passenger ship Length X Breadth X Depth: 30.00m X 7.80m X 7.00m Draught: 1.65m Capacity: 215 passengers Engine: 2X400HP @ 1800 RPM Speed: 12 knots Class: Germanischer Lloyd Build Year: 2012

Nurjahan Group Fleet of 4[32] Built for Nurjahan group, Bangladesh. Type: Oil Tanker Year: Aug 2012 Length X Breadth X Depth: 63.80m X 10.10m X 5.70m Capacity: 1350DWT Speed: 10 knots Class: Germanischer Lloyd Design: Western Marine Shipyard Ltd., Bangladesh Engine Power: 2 X 7250 BHP

MV DAR ES SALAAM[33] Built for JGH Marine; operated by the Tanzanian Transport Ministry. Type: Catamaran passenger ship Length 37.50m Breadth: 11.50m Depth: 3.80m Draught: 1.70m Passenger capacity: 302 Speed: 22 knots Engine Power: 2X1140KW @ 1840 RPM

In 2017, the Finance Minister of Bangladesh, Abul Maal Abdul Muhith, identified WMS as one of the top twenty loan defaulters in the country.[34] However, the shipyard has rescheduled its defaulted loans with two banks and has started to repay installments regularly.[35]

• Shipbuilding in Bangladesh

• Official website