Astivik approaches half century in fine form

摘要

Since its founding in 1972, Astivik Shipyard in Cartagena has become the most important shipbuilding and repair facility in Colombia. It enjpoys the largest lifting capacity in the country and has serviced more than 300 vessels over the last three years, repairing and delivering vessels to international clients of some 30 countries.In spite of last year being atypical, it produced a good business year as the yard built five river units worth $1.8m for a gold mining company. 'It was the first time that such a ship was built in Colombia and Astivik's design was innovative,' says the yard's director for business development Cristhian Mar Gonzalez.The shipyard, owned by Florida-based Carsun since 2003, benefits from its Cartagena location by catering to the Caribbean area, Latin America and the US. Re the latter, it is able to repair Jones Act vessels without penalty to the owners thanks the Free Trade accord between the US and Colombia. In general, it also benefits from Cartagena's good air and sea connectivity with the rest of the world to obtain spare parts and has also built up strong links with Panama-based shipowners.