Visakhapatnam: Will India be building Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) of two billion barrel capacity in the near future?

It will, if Union minister of ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal is to be believed. These massive ships will be built at a shipbuilding hub being planned in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu. ADVERTISEMENT

This hub will be capable of building both naval vessels and cargo ships as per demand, the minister said during his address at the 10th Convocation ceremony of the state-run Indian Maritime University (IMU) in Visakhapatnam.

Increasing the Indian fleet of cargo ships is a thrust area of the government are billions of dollars are spent every year as hire charges for foreign vessels. VLCCs are oil tankers that can carry 200,000 to 320,000 metric

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