ABG Shipyard plans to shift its focus towards defence orders which are more lucrative compared to the commercial shipbuilding business. The company will eventually exit the commercial sector. This is part of ABG's plans to restructure operations, post entering corporate debt restructuring last year.

"Even as the commercial shipbuilding market is not looking good, given the focus on ˜Make in India', orders from defence are expected to be on the rise, which is what ABG Shipyard would like to cash in on," Mr Dhananjay Datar, Executive Director of ABG, said.

The company currently has close to 42 orders for commercial ships, valued at a staggering $2.3 billion, mostly on account of the oil and gas industry. However, the softening of demand in global markets has resulted in a series of order cancellations, causing a huge inventory pile up. "We currently have only 30 per cent of the commercial shipbuilding orders alive," Mr Datar said, adding that 70 per cent (worth $1.6 billion) contracts have been cancelled.

According to Mr Datar, ABG's present focus is on delivering its naval orders valued at Rs 1,200 crore. The order includes cadet training and battle practice ships for the Indian Navy and a few ships for the Coast Guard.