Prabha earning potential for Deep in Mexico
Deep Industries believes it can earn an annual income of Rs140cr ($17m) when it deploys its barge Prabha off Mexico by the end of 2024.
After taking over BSE-listed Dolphin Offshore in 2023, Deep renamed Mauritius-flagged barge Vikrant Dolphin as Prabha and is refurbishing the barge at Tampico Port in Mexico for nearly $13m. Deep has financed the refurbishment through loans from banks.
"The refurbishment is in the final stages," confirms a Deep source. "We expect Prabha to begin generating revenue from October to December (2024)."
Deep expects Prabha to generate at least $50,000/day in the Mexican region. "In this region, Prabha can operate for more than 320 days a year," we hear.
Prabha is an accommodation barge that can house up to 275 people. Our Deep source adds it is in "advanced talks" with a few clients interested in hiring Prabha.
"We are deliberately not signing contracts yet because the rig is still being refurbished, and we have time to explore the market and win better rates," we hear. Before moving to Tampico, the barge docked at the German Ship Repair Jamaica shipyard in Jamaica on January 12 (2023) for essential work, including painting the 4100-sq metre hull with four coats of paint.
Other repairs include overhauling 28 outboard valves, installing four modified sheave units (grooved wheels part of a pulley system used to guide and hold wire rope, cables, or belts), fitting new strainers and two valves for the sea chest (an intake area for ballast water) and repairing the barge railings. After cutting out letters from a steel sheet, the shipyard welded the name Prabhha onto the barge.
Prabha was initially expected to begin generating revenues by March 2024. However, time and cost overruns meant the barge was idle for over three years.
Initially, Deep estimated a refurbishment cost of Rs35cr ($4m). "But more work had to be done on the barge than initially estimated," we hear.