L&T sees no significant business impact from cyclone Vardah

CHENNAI: Several vessels and facilities at L&T shipyard at Kattupalli in Tiruvallur district on outskirts of Chennai have been damaged due to cyclone Vardah, but the company asserts that there won't be any "significant" impact on its business.

Vardah, the most intense cyclone to have hit the Tamil Nadu capital in two decades, hit the shipyard hard, blowing away the roof of the workshop, while at least four vessels for which the company was looking for customers were damaged.

"We are inspecting and assessing the extent of damage to the vessels and will make a plan for repair after that. The assets are covered under insurance," said D Morada, V-P of L&T.

He admitted that there has been "some damage" to the shipyard but was not very severe.

"Since the facility was built by L&T, it will not take too long to repair the damage and restore normal operations," he said, adding that overall, "there will be no significant impact our business".

The company has emerged as a serious player in the domestic ship building and repair industry and is a strong contender for some of the upcoming multi-billion dollar naval contracts that will be up for grabs for Indian firms.

L&T's Kattupalli facility operates a mega shipyard for shipbuilding as well as retrofitting and conversions.

The facility also holds an export-oriented Modular Fabrication Facility (MFF) offering an offshore platform and floating production-cum-storage units and similar products and systems for the oil and gas sector.

L&T has a controlling interest in its joint venture L&T Shipbuilding Limited (LTSB) with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd (TIDCO).