In July 1982, an on site inspection of Japanese shipbuilding facilities was performed to study Japan's surface preparation and coatings planning and production methods. The study found that the Japanese approach to planning and construction did, in fact, reduce cost. Another finding was that the Japanese have developed a standard coating system which is designed to facilitate construction. Any variance from this standard system is considered an add-on and results in increased procurement costs for the ship owner. The question then logically arises, "Are the Japanese application methods and coating systems adequate for the intended purpose?" and "Will the systems provide adequate protection for the ships steel during the life of the vessel?" As will be seen in the body of the report, the Japanese system does provide adequate protection for a ships life cycle with scheduled crew and drydock maintenance. Generally, a ship is designed with a twenty year life cycle.

This book elucidates the potential of the shipbuilding industry for initiating economic development, which eventually leads to enhancing the prosperity of a nation. This is explained by intrinsically linking the macroeconomics of the nation with the microeconomics of the shipbuilding industry. The economic and commercial spin offs by the shipyard to the various industries have been analysed and calculated. An attempt has been made to trace the illustrious past of Indian shipbuilding from the Bronze Age, through the ancient kingdom period, to the present times, in the backdrop of Indian maritime history. The operational requirement of commercial as well as defence shipbuilding has been analysed to assess the available potential market space for the Indian shipbuilding industry. Lessons from history help to formulate future strategies. In pursuit of this, the book investigates the global trends in commercial shipbuilding since the industrial revolution period to date; the success stories of leading shipbuilding nations viz.UK, USA, Japan, Korea and China have been analysed. The benefits accrued by these nations through shipbuilding have been summarised. The strategies adopted by each of these countries to reach the pinnacle in shipbuilding have been examined and the salient features relevant for India have been identified. Productivity measurement in shipbuilding has been examined and the problems with the current system have been highlighted, along with solutions. This book suggests the usage of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a mathematical linear programming technique, as an appropriate tool to measure total productivity as well as profitability. The various ways of improving profitability in shipbuilding, by way of cost-cutting techniques, along with some Indian case studies have been explained in the book. Keeping the ‘Indian Maritime Agenda 2010-2020’ vision document in the backdrop, a strategic appreciation of the Indian shipbuilding industry has been undertaken using the SWOT, the Matrix and the Scenario analyses. Based on these analyses, strategies have been formulated for all the stakeholders who can influence the Indian shipbuilding industry. The book then identifies the need for an alchemist leader, who can harmonise all the stakeholders and thereby propel the Indian shipbuilding industry towards achieving the long-term goal of creating a prosperous India.