Mr. Antony Prince. A ‘malayali’ who conquered the seas with his ambitions; who through his quest for better ship designs and construction standards has created a domain of his own, as vast as the oceans. . He is the president of Smart Engineering and Design Solutions Ltd., a pioneering ship design house with its headquarters at the Bahamas. His wife, Mrs Alice Prince, a Chartered Accountant by training, is the co‐founder and Senior Vice President of the company.
“Dedication, determination, hard work and perseverance in the face of difficult and challenging times is my ‘mantra’ to succeed”, testifies Mr Prince.
Mechanical Engineer finds passion in Ships
He completed his schooling and intermediate at the St. Albert’s School and St. Albert’s College respectively, both at Ernakulam. He came out with flying colours from T. K. M College of Engineering in the year 1968, as a mechanical engineer. Subsequently, he was absorbed as a marine engineer in their fleet by the
Shipping Corporation of India. During his career as a marine engineer, he got invitation from the renowned Naval Architect, Mr. George Campbell to join his G. T. R.Campbell Marine Consultants Ltd. This was a turning point for Mr. Prince in his career and life. Recognizing his abilities and efforts to bring up the company, he was promoted as its president in 1983. He was granted Canadian citizenship in 1990. The entrepreneur in him did not miss the opportunity to own the company in which he was working, and there he became the owner of G. T. R Campbell Marine Consultants Ltd. in 1993. He kept his eyes and ears open to diversify the activities of the company.
Under its new leadership,the company launched ten new ship designs and marked an overwhelming presence in the ship building market. Three of these designs are still considered among the best designs ever in its class. The year 1993 also saw the company making strides into Chinese market and consolidating business with a fair share of the market. But all these years, he was waiting to get an opportunity to serve his mother land. As always, when the opportunity struck, Mr. Prince was ready to take it. The six ships which changed Kochi’s fortune.
These are his words: “A renowned Danish ship owner with more than two hundred ships in their fleet approached us for the construction of their new series of bulk carriers. The idea to entrust the construction of these vessels with Cochin shipyard came to my mind. But the track record of ship building in Kochi was not at all promising. However, with many odds weighing against my decision and against many warnings from friends in the industry,six orders for these bulkers were placed with Cochin shipyard and another four with a shipyard in Gujarat in 2003. That was the first time in the modern history of ship building when two shipyards in India got such huge orders. Our fears were not unfounded. The first of these vessels were to be delivered within three and a half years, with subsequent sisters delivered every six months. This was unimaginable for a shipyard which delivered only 13 ships in its 35 years of history. If something was to go wrong, then our image as a reliable organization would have been tarnished. I took a calculated risk. I had a face to face meeting with the engineers and workers of the shipyard. Their straight forward attitude and enthusiasm attracted me. I knew that the ‘malayali’ engineers and workers were second to none, but they were lacking in one key aspect; proper project management.
I saw a great opportunity unfolding in front of me. If I could bring in the wealth of experience which our company had acquired through its activities around the globe, these engineers could do wonders;and they did. The ships were delivered four months ahead of schedule. As with any new initiative, there were hiccups and vested interests playing against us. But the workers here stood behind me in unison. The project was also a life line for the ship building industry in Gujarat, as no owner was ready to risk their money in these shipyards at that time.
Following this, Indian shipyards were flooded with orders for more than a hundred ships worth Indian Rupees 50000 crores (Approximately 10 billion US dollars). There is a sad turn for this story. Our inadequate policies and lack of proper planning made sure that these opportunities were wasted. If I have to face a question now about the shipyard which I consider as the best in India, I am left with no doubt – Cochin Shipyard”.
Malayalees are the best
Mr Prince continues: “Malayalees are smart and highly skilled in ship building. I have engaged with Japanese ship yards making hundreds of ships. The Japanese are hardworking, but no one comes close to us in terms of skill. Even a welder understands complicated drawings, which are prepared for engineers. I
have heard that ‘Malayalees’ are hardworking outside, but not when they work in Kerala. The engineers and workers in Cochin Shipyard proved this
wrong completely. Once, I was surprised to find that 85% of the workers turned in for work during a general strike
Future lies in India
We are yet to utilize the full potential of ship building in India. China is far ahead of us. Indian firms need to concentrate on training and gain experience from working on defence related projects in these times of recession. Ship building business is cyclic in nature, and to be successful, one has to foresee its trend. Shipbuilding industry in India lacks someone like Mr Sam Pitroda. A flourishing Ship building industry can directly or indirectly influence the lives of millions of people in India. Ship building is a labour intensive industry. Thirty percentage of the cost involved in ship building can be attributed to labour. Is it now clear why countries like China, Korea and Japan give so much impetus to ship building
Note:
If we can bring back or make use of the services of outstanding professional achievers in different fields like Mr. Antony Prince we can definitely make Kerala the ‘GOD’s OWN COUNTRY’
Alex V. Koshy