Fast developing Newport Shipping has added to its global network of ship repair yards with facilities in Singapore, Indonesia and China, following the signing of a cooperation agreement with Singapore-based PaxOcean.
The agreement, specific to PaxOcean’s Pertama (Batam, Indonesia), PaxOcean Singapore and PaxOcean Zhoushan facilities, brings Newport’s tally of ship repair yards to six, totalling 13 drydocks and providing annual drydocking capacity for more than 1,000 vessels.
UK-headquartered Newport Shipping already has cooperation agreements in place with the Zhoushan Longshan and Fujian Huadong shipyards in China, and the Cicek Shipyard, in Tuzla, Turkey. The company is also in the process of finalising agreements with other yards, coatings suppliers and original equipment manufacturers.
Commenting on the decision to work together with Newport, Tan Thai Yong, CEO of PaxOcean Holdings, said: “Newport’s overall strategy to provide shipowners with a standardised drydocking for all their ship repair, maintenance and equipment upgrades complements PaxOcean’s capabilities in executing and delivering quality, reliable and cost-efficient solutions.
“We found Newport Shipping’s unique financing capabilities particularly attractive since vessels repaired at Newport’s docks will be fully paid for before leaving the yard. This de-risks any payment problems and reduces considerably the shipyard’s administrative burden.”
Another novel aspect to the cooperation agreements Newport Shipping has with its yards, is the procurement and delivery of equipment and spare parts for ship repair projects.
Roy Yap, Newport Shipping’s chief operating officer, said: “The agreements we have in place with shipowners covers all maintenance costs in addition to drydocking costs, such as spare parts, equipment upgrades, specialist and retrofit works, such as those for BWTS or scrubbers. By procuring the delivery of spare parts upon vessel arrival, we help shipowners eliminate unnecessary time off-hire, while optimising project time and planning for the shipyard.”
Newport has refocused its business away from its initial bulker pooling plans to provide drydocking, repair services and financing to the global shipping industry.
The company’s new service portfolio claims to offer a unique ship repair financing proposition, whereby shipowners opting to repair their ships at a Newport affiliated dock can stagger 60% of their drydocking payments into 12 or more equal monthly instalments.
