'India too important a country not to be involved with'
Italy-based Finaval SpA seems to be the latest shipping company to articulate its India-centric plans.
By TNN |
Italy-based Finaval SpA seems to be the latest shipping company to articulate its India-centric plans. A subsidiary of Finaval Holding SpA, it is engaged in marine logistics sector and recently forayed into liquefied petroleum-gas shipping. During his recent visit to Mumbai, company president and CEO, Giovanni Fagioli took time off to talk about company strategy. Excerpts from the interview
Tell us about Finaval’s plans for India?
We have plans to grow in India in a big way. Finaval has been growing at a dramatic pace and we plan to grow in Europe as well as in India. We are looking at building an important relationship with companies in India and growing in our field of operation by investing more in ships. We have lined up ambitious growth plans and hope to achieve our aims within the next 3-4 years. We are also contemplating sending our Italian seafarers for training to India to make use of the good training facilities here.
What is your current fleet strength?
We have 15 ships and these are mostly tankers: two are gas tankers and the rest product and Aframax tankers. Soon we will be adding some more Aframax tankers. Our investment exceeds $400 million.
Do you plan expansion of your gas segment?
Expansion of the gas fleet is not on our radar because it will not prove to be lucrative. Rather, we will invest substantially in crude oil business, which is a better option, considering that there is a big future in the oil business with better returns. We are very bullish about the oil tanker market and would like to concentrate our resources in crude and oil product to bring synergy to our plans.
How do you foresee the shipping trade scenario in crude oil?
There is a possibility of refineries shifting from the US and Europe to Asia but there are other improvements taking place in refineries as well. But, of course, the route of the ship trade is changing. There will be more work for all shipping to and from China and India since they are fast developing economies. I don’t think the scenario will change much, but there will be more work for shipping for sure.
Have you finalised any deals in the crude oil business in India?
We find India is a wonderful partner and plan to enter into joint ventures here in a big way. We are holding talks with shipping companies and hope to get into tie-ups soon but it would not be advisable to talk about such deals till they are finalised.
Besides crude oil, do you plan to venture into other segments?
We will definitely increase our business in areas other than crude oil. We feel there are plenty of opportunities and India is too important a country not to be involved with. We intend to use our young fleet to serve Indian crude requirements. India deserves to be served by young and well-maintained ships, (although this is not always the case) thus eliminating the risk of oil pollution. We have plans to get into ship management and other operations too, besides utilising Indian expertise in shipboard training and market research.
Could you tell us about your experiences in employing Indian seafarers?
Indians seafarers are good, and my feeling is that we have done the right thing in investing in Indians. It was way back in 1986 when we seized the opportunity by taking Indians seafarers. We preferred Indians to Filipinos, Chinese, Koreans and others. We have taken a conscious decision to be with Indian organisations. No doubt we have Indian officers but we are looking at changing our policy to increasing the intake of Indians on our ships.
What is your investment in training and how many training slots do you provide on your ships?
Our investment is more than $1 million. In Europe we have amalgamated our training programmes using simulators and other training aids. All training and other benefits offered to seafarers are designed towards building up a family relationship. Each ship has 2 cadets, one each of deck and engine. Sometimes, we increase this number to 3, depending on requirements.
Tell us about Finaval’s plans for India?
We have plans to grow in India in a big way. Finaval has been growing at a dramatic pace and we plan to grow in Europe as well as in India. We are looking at building an important relationship with companies in India and growing in our field of operation by investing more in ships. We have lined up ambitious growth plans and hope to achieve our aims within the next 3-4 years. We are also contemplating sending our Italian seafarers for training to India to make use of the good training facilities here.
What is your current fleet strength?
We have 15 ships and these are mostly tankers: two are gas tankers and the rest product and Aframax tankers. Soon we will be adding some more Aframax tankers. Our investment exceeds $400 million.
Do you plan expansion of your gas segment?
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Expansion of the gas fleet is not on our radar because it will not prove to be lucrative. Rather, we will invest substantially in crude oil business, which is a better option, considering that there is a big future in the oil business with better returns. We are very bullish about the oil tanker market and would like to concentrate our resources in crude and oil product to bring synergy to our plans.
How do you foresee the shipping trade scenario in crude oil?
There is a possibility of refineries shifting from the US and Europe to Asia but there are other improvements taking place in refineries as well. But, of course, the route of the ship trade is changing. There will be more work for all shipping to and from China and India since they are fast developing economies. I don’t think the scenario will change much, but there will be more work for shipping for sure.
Have you finalised any deals in the crude oil business in India?
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We find India is a wonderful partner and plan to enter into joint ventures here in a big way. We are holding talks with shipping companies and hope to get into tie-ups soon but it would not be advisable to talk about such deals till they are finalised.
Besides crude oil, do you plan to venture into other segments?
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We will definitely increase our business in areas other than crude oil. We feel there are plenty of opportunities and India is too important a country not to be involved with. We intend to use our young fleet to serve Indian crude requirements. India deserves to be served by young and well-maintained ships, (although this is not always the case) thus eliminating the risk of oil pollution. We have plans to get into ship management and other operations too, besides utilising Indian expertise in shipboard training and market research.
Could you tell us about your experiences in employing Indian seafarers?
Indians seafarers are good, and my feeling is that we have done the right thing in investing in Indians. It was way back in 1986 when we seized the opportunity by taking Indians seafarers. We preferred Indians to Filipinos, Chinese, Koreans and others. We have taken a conscious decision to be with Indian organisations. No doubt we have Indian officers but we are looking at changing our policy to increasing the intake of Indians on our ships.
What is your investment in training and how many training slots do you provide on your ships?
Our investment is more than $1 million. In Europe we have amalgamated our training programmes using simulators and other training aids. All training and other benefits offered to seafarers are designed towards building up a family relationship. Each ship has 2 cadets, one each of deck and engine. Sometimes, we increase this number to 3, depending on requirements.
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