LAUGFS Maritime, first to register as ship at Hambantota Port
LAUGFS, one of the largest diversified conglomerates in Sri Lanka, last week became the first to register a vessel at the Hambantota Port. The announcement was made together with the purchase of another LPG vessel under LAUGFS Maritime, in its plans to rapidly expand its vessel fleet. This latest LPG carrier was acquired for an investment of over US$2.8 million, and is registered under the Sri Lankan flag as Gas Courage, the company said in a media release. "Being a conglomerate that takes pride in our Sri Lankan roots, we are extremely pleased to be able to register the first ship at the Hambantota Port," said LAUGFS Holdings Chairman, Mr. W.K.H.Wegapitiya.
"We have been aggressively expanding our interests in the power and energy sector as part of our global expansion strategy. Our plans are to strengthen our vessel fleet to 20 carriers soon, to cater to the growing logistics demand within the region as well as by our own LPG oper- ations in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Gas Courage will expand logistic capabilities of LAUGFS Maritime with another 3,000 M/Tons of LPG capacity. As global energy demand continues to rise, we are quickly gearing up to support these future requirements and to capture emerging opportunities, with strong investments especially focusing on energy infrastructure," he added.
LAUGFS is currently setting up one of the largest LPG import and export terminals in South Asia at Hambantota. The terminal, due to be commissioned in 2018, is expected to support the growing LPG demand serving as a central storage hub for the region. Further, the energy trading arm of LAUGFS, SLOGAL Energy DMCC, was set up last year with headquarters in Dubai. LAUGFS has also become the first Sri Lankan energy brand to become a multinational, with the acquisition of the 3rd largest LPG distributor in Bangladesh, one of the most lucrative emerging markets for LPG in Asia.