Calcutta, Dec. 12: The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd is negotiating with global shipping firms to re-start the service on the India-US sector.

“We are trying to leverage on the demand-supply mismatch in the sector by joining with other players and are hopeful of re-entering the sector,” SCI chairman and managing director S. Hajara said today on the sidelines of a meet organised by Bengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Several companies have evinced interests for re-starting the service jointly with SCI. “We are in an advanced stage of discussions with them and expect to finalise a deal in a few months,” he said.

“We would like to emerge as a total logistics solution provider and a truly diversified company,” Hajara said. For this, SCI will venture into terminal management, own rigs and similar activities.

The company plans to acquire 28 vessels at an investment of Rs 6,500 crore. “We will finance the deal through a debt-equity ratio of 80:20. The debt component would be raised either through external commercial borrowings or from the domestic market, depending on the prevalent circumstances,” he said.

“The decision on financing will be taken on a project to project basis. However, we have urged the government for block-based clearances rather than project-based to facilitate the process of acquisition,” he added.

SCI will make significant investments for scaling up its information technology infrastructure along the lines of global shipping firms.

SCI will re-submit a fresh bid to Petronet LNG for building a third liquefied natural gas ship. Petronet had decided to call for fresh bids even after announcing that the contract was likely to go to Exmar-Indian Oil Corporation-Varun Shipping consortium.

“The request for re-submission of tenders follows cancellation of an important criteria of the tender, which required deployment of Indian flagged vessel for the LNG trade,” he explained.

“Though we will re-submit our bid, it is unfortunate for the government to keep the Indian flagged vessel guidelines in abeyance,” he added. SCI is a part of the consortium, which includes Mitsui OSK Lines and NYK Line.

Hajara said the shipping industry has been asking for a level playing field, as it is becoming highly competitive.