$4B Fleet Expansion Planned
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Oman's state-owned shipping company aims to spend up to $4 billion over the next three to four years to expand its fleet size, a senior company official said, according to a report published on www.guardian.co.uk.
Oman Shipping Company (OSC) is looking to grow its shipping fleet mainly to meet the demand for energy transportation, the company’s CFO reportedly told Reuters in a recent telephone interview.
Part of OSC's multi-billion dollar expansion includes a recent order to build 10 VLCCs, according to the report.
In Februray, OSC placed two separate orders with South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries Co, the world's largest shipbuilder, to build five supertankers, and with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co to build another five VLCCs.
The shipbuilding contracts placed with the South Korean shipyards were valued at about $770 million each, or around $1.54 billion in total.
OSC is in discussions with the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) on securing a long-term charter contract for at least five of the recently ordered supertankers, Mathur said. (Source: www.guardian.co.uk)
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