On 29 January 1971, we were incorporated in India as a private company limited by shares under the name of Varun Shipping Company Private Limited under the Companies Act, 1956 with registration number 14985 of 1970-71. We changed our name to Varun Shipping Company Limited on 18 February 1972 when we were converted into a public limited company.
We commenced our shipping business in March 1973 with the acquisition of one product tanker and presently own/operate a diversified fleet of 19 vessels.
In 1986, we became a publicly held company with our initial public equity offering in India and listing on Bombay Stock Exchange Limited, Ahmedabad Stock Exchange Limited and The Delhi Stock Exchange Association Limited. In 1988, we were listed on The Calcutta Stock Exchange Association Limited. We are committed to quality assurance and safety at sea. We received and have maintained our ISO 9001:2000 certification since 1995 for shore-based ship management services. We voluntarily participated in the United States of America Coast Guard sponsored Automated Mutual-assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) System and one of our previously-owned vessels was awarded the Certificate of Merit by AMVER 9 times.
In July 1995, we incorporated VSC International Pte Ltd, as a wholly-owned subsidiary, in Singapore to avail ourselves of international finance and tax benefits available to Singapore-based shipping companies.
In 2003, we were listed on National Stock Exchange of India Limited. With this listing, our Company was listed on 5 stock exchanges in India.
As at 31st March 2008, we were the largest owner of LPG tonnage in India and we believe we continue to own the largest LPG fleet in India with around 80% of the total LPG tonnage (in dwt terms) presently operating under the Indian flag.
On 7 July 2005, we registered our branch office in Singapore. The initial business activity of the branch is to provide the technical management services to some of the vessels of our Company.
We own a well diversified fleet of 19 vessels comprising 11 LPG carriers, 3 crude oil tankers and 5 AHTSs. We provide transportation of diversified cargoes globally as well as along the Indian coast and provide support services to the oil exploration industry. In April, 2006, our Company was given the award of "Fastest Expanding Indian Shipping Company" by the National Maritime Day Celebrations Committee (Central) formed by the Directorate General of Shipping, Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Government of India
We have been profitable and able to distribute dividends uninterruptedly to our shareholders for the last 24 years. |
