Bergesen exercised an option to
buy two more 296,000 dwt oil tankers from Japan's
Hitachi Zosen Corp for a combined price of $140 million. "The vessels will be delivered in February and June 2002, and will be vessels number seven and eight delivered by Hitachi to Bergesen," Bergesen said in a statement. "The contract for the first six vessels was entered into earlier this year, and the first
two vessels have already been delivered," it said. "The Hitachi series represents a strong renewal of Bergesen's tanker fleet. The company has in 1999 and so far this year sold altogether seven old tankers, of which five for scrapping. It has been decided to convert another two old tankers to floating production vessels," it said.