Concordia Maritime entered a five-year time charter agreement for a
P-MAX tanker with the U.S. oil company Amerada Hess Corporation. The charter
rate will be $23,000 per day.
The vessel, which is expected to be delivered around mid-2006, will mainly
run between the Caribbean and US East Coast.
Amerada Hess Corporation is a global integrated energy company engaged in
the exploration for and the production of crude oil and natural gas, the
refining of crude oil and the sale of refined products, natural gas and
electricity. Almost 70% of the capital is deployed in Exploration and
Production. The stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the
ticker symbol AHC.
The design of P-MAX vessels, which permits a larger freight load than
corresponding standard vessels of the same draught, is advantageous in many
ports, particularly on the US east coast, and offers customers excellent
freight economy.
Thanks to the dual propulsion system, with two engine rooms, two rudders
and two propellers, these vessels offer excellent levels of safety and
manoeuvrability. The navigation systems and bridge layout have also been
developed to facilitate better control, especially in confined and heavily
trafficked passages. The bridge has a 360-degree field of view and dual
command centres for manoeuvring.
This agreement means that Concordia has now secured employment for five
of the six P-MAX vessels on order, which will be delivered over a two-year
period starting November 2005. Five-year time
charter agreements have
already been signed for two of the vessels with the French oil company
TOTAL, and ten-year time charter agreements for two vessels have been
signed with the Russian logistics company Progretra.