Seabulk International, Inc. announced the extension of time charters with Tesoro Maritime Company on two of its U.S.- flag double-hull tankers through July 2010. Operated by the Company's marine transportation subsidiary, Seabulk Tankers, the 46,000-ton Seabulk Arctic
began her original Tesoro charter in the summer of 2000, followed by her sister ship, the Seabulk Pride, in the summer of 2001. The two state-of-the- art vessels provide petroleum transport service for three refineries owned and
operated by Tesoro in Nikiski, Alaska on Cook Inlet; Anacortes, Washington on the Puget Sound, and at Kapolei, Hawaii.
L. Stephen Willrich, president of Seabulk Tankers, noted that, "Seabulk's two double-hull vessels have performed well for Tesoro and, by extending their time charters, we ensure continuing reliable services that provide maximum
safety and environmental protection in sensitive Pacific coastal waters. With no age restriction under OPA 90, our double-hulls present a tremendous advantage to customers."
Gerhard E. Kurz, chairman, president and chief executive officer of parent
company Seabulk International, added, "
These contract extensions are part of strategy of ensuring a reliable long-term source of future earnings. In line with this approach, six of our tankers are currently employed under time charters of a year or more, while a seventh is contracted out under a bareboat
charter to a major oil company through January 2012."