Walkers Colombo shipyard successfully builds first vessel

Walkers Colombo Shipyard (Pvt) Ltd, a subsidiary of MTD Walkers PLC, has successfully completed the construction of its first vessel, a barge named ‘Seagulf 1’.

The barge designed and constructed entirely by in-house engineering teams under the guidance of Dr. Sarath Obeysekera, Managing Director of Walkers Colombo Shipyard (Pvt) Ltd, was launched recently at the Walkers Colombo Shipyard in Mutwal Harbour, the company said.

“We are extremely pleased with the rapid progress made by the Marine Engineering sector of the Group and hope to see growing contribution to Revenue and Profits from this sector,” said Viraj De Silva, Chief Financial Officer of MTD Walkers PLC and Director of Walkers Colombo Shipyard (Pvt) Ltd commenting on the Group’s strategy to establish shipyards across the island to cater to the growing demand for quality ship repair and shipbuilding services in the Indian Ocean.

MTD Walkers PLC, Sri Lanka’s only fully integrated engineering solutions provider, expanded its presence in the Marine Engineering sector in 2015 by unveiling its plans to open a state of the art ship repair facility in Mutwal Harbour with an investment of USD 8.5 million.

Funding for the development of the yard was procured through the pro- ceeds of a Rs. 3 billion debenture issue in September 2015.

The 3.5 acre facility upon completion will be equipped with a Shiplift and Transfer System, a first in the Sri Lankan Marine Engineering sector, capable of accommodating a broad range of vessels up to 1,250 tonnes. Walkers CML also envisages to provide much needed repair services to Sri Lanka's Fishing Boat Industry by installing Boat Lifts in many fishery harbours to cater for lifting of boats up to 60 tonnes. The shipyard has already commenced the construction of two tug boats which will be used to assist operations at the shipyard when it commences commercial operations in January 2017.