Bangladeshi breaker looks to Singapore
Bangladeshi breaker looks to Singapore
Silvia Shiptrade might seem an incongruous name for a company involved in the dirty and dangerous world of ship-breaking but for managing director Mujibur Rahman Milon it has a special meaning.
When Milon decided to set up his Singapore-based operation to buy ships for resale to Bangladeshi breakers he submitted a list of possible names to the local Trade Development Board. All the names he suggested had been taken so he named the company after his seven-year-old daughter Silvia instead.
The company has now been up and running for around 18 months and so far Milon has been concentrating only on the Bangladesh market, with around 25 ships totaling 300,000 ldt bought and sold on to breakers. Most vessels have been bulkers or tween deckers but Milon is hopeful of securing a VLCC in the near future.
Milon says Silvia's trade comprises around 30%-40% of all scrap tonnage sold into Bangladesh. He acknowledges that the company faces tough competition from established players such as Germany's Eckhardt and Middle East buyer Five Star However, he declares: "Our intention is that we will lead the Bangladeshi market."
Although still a relatively small shop on the international scrap-buying circuit, Silvia is regarded as on the way up and a friendly organization. At the official opening of the company's new office in April a large group of Bangladeshi breakers flew in for the occasion and the party also drew representation from Braemar in London, the Singapore office of RS Platou and various Taiwanese brokers.
Milon, originally born in Karachi but now a Bangladeshi citizen, believes his strong ties with local scrap buyers will give Silvia an advantage. He deals with around 35-40 different breakers and so far he says all sales have gone smoothly with- out any vanishing buyers so of ten associated with scrap deals.
An unusual feature of Milon's business is that he owns two breaking plots in Chittagong where he has recently placed the 3.400-ldt car carrier Puppis (built 1977) and the 13.289-ldt US-flagged tanker Seminole (built 1961) Milon says it provides a useful buffer zone for taking in ships other clients cannot manage. "Once owners sell to us they can sleep easy in their beds," he says.
Milon comments that the Bangladesh budget last week heralded nothing new for the breaking community and adds that the market is dead at the moment. He goes on to admit the Bangladeshi scrap market follows India on pricing and that Bangladeshi scrap buyers can still break even despite the depressed prevailing prices around $115-$120 per idt for bulk tonnage and $125-$130 per ldt for tankers.
Silvia currently buys around two to three ships per month but Milon says the company could easily boost this to five or six. His main reason for setting up in Singapore is to access better financing and the world- wide broking community so he can develop the business. By the end of 1998 he hopes to ex- tend sales into Pakistan before branching into the Indian market next year.
Milon's 'luck opened' with first deal
WOULD-BE cash buyers for Bangladeshi shipbreakers must serve a very long apprentice ship. Milon remembers working on his first sale for three years while different breakers tested him out as the "new boy" on the block.
He has not forgotten that first ship. "It was the Alesia Bay, a 5.000 idt tweendecker" he says beaming, "and I struck a very good deal. From that vessel my luck opened."
That was in 1984. With the sale proceeds Milon established Ocean Trade & Brokers in Chittagong, which since it was established has handled over 500 vessel sales to Bangladeshi scrap buyers. Today Ocean trade acts as an agent for Singapore based Silvia Shiptrade Milon now makes monthly shuttles between the modest offices in Singapore and his- larger Chittagong operation where he employs around 25 people.
A soft-spoken man with a ready smile, Milon is described by friends as exceptionally hardworking and a devout Muslim. He undertakes a considerable amount of charity work at home in Bangladesh. His staff say he can be impossible to reach on the phone and breaking associates pull his leg charging him with organizing early-morning keep-fit swims at the Chittagong Club and then failing to turn up himself.
