Oman Shipping News

In the 45 years since the Arab Shipbuilding & Repair Yard (ASRY) opened on reclaimed land in Bahrain, the Middle East has become one of the world’s ship repair hotspots. A broad range of shipyards now service both regional and global markets.Regional yards have a ready market, with hundreds of offshore rigs working across the region together with the service ships that support them. Then there are thousands of tankers and gas carriers that arrive each year to load energy cargoes for far-flung destinations.

Oman's state-owned transport group Asyad is weighing the sale of a strategic stake in its subsidiary Oman Shipping Company (OSC), three sources familiar with the matter said.Asyad has asked banks to pitch for a mandate to help it review a potential deal in which Asyad could divest up to 40% of its ownership, said two sources, who declined to be named as the matter was not public.Asyad, owned by the Oman Investment Authority, the country's sovereign fund, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Oman Shipping Company also did not respond to a request for comment.OSC focuses on transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes to the international market…

As ASYAD Group continues the integration of Oman Shipping Company (OSC) and Oman Drydock Company (ODC), it has appointed Dr. Ibrahim Al-Nadhairi as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Shipping and Drydock business units.Prior to his role, Dr. Ibrahim was Chief Operating Officer of Oman Shipping Company and in charge of the ship management segment looking after the technical management of the fleet and overseeing the running of the company’s asset. In his new role he will lead a multinational organization with 1900 people.

Oman Shipping Company (OSC), a member of the ASYAD Group, has announced the acquisition of two modern Ultramax Dry Bulk vessels, SBI Taurus and TR Omaha.The new ships due for delivery in April and May 2020 will join OSC’s fleet of over 50 world-class vessels including LNG Carriers, LPG Carriers, VLCCs, Tankers, VLOCs, Dry Cargo, and Container ships. These ships will be renamed to (JABAL SAMHAN & JABAL AL KAWR) once joined to reflect the greatness of Omani Mountains and its rich minerals.The announcement is in line with OSC’s business plan and will add to the Company’s Dry Cargo capacity meeting increasing customer demand and complementing the existing vessel portfolio to further contribute to the development of the local mining industry.

Oman Shipping Company (OSC) has held a naming ceremony for the latest addition to the company’s Dry Bulk fleet, the Jabal Shams. The ceremony marks the official handover of the vessel from Zhoushan Changhong Shipyard to OSC.The shipping arm of the ASYAD Group said that the new ship will join OSC’s fleet of over 50 world-class vessels including LNG Carriers, LPG Carriers, VLCCs, Tankers, VLOCs, Dry Cargo, and Container ships.Today’s ceremony follows the naming of the Jabal Shams’ sister ship, the Jabal Almisht in Zhoushan in August. The two new ships, which are part of a series of four Ultramax Dry Cargo vessels due to be delivered to OSC in 2019…

Oman Shipping Company (OSC), a member of the ASYAD Group, has signed an agreement for the construction of three very large crude carriers (VLCCs) with South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).The triple 300,000 dwt vessels are expected for delivery during the first quarter of 2020. OSC will charter out the vessels to oil majors under long-term contracts.OSC said the three 300,000 dwt VLCCs were part of OSC’s fleet renewal plan and long term contracts with oil majors were already in place for the vessels.Each of the vessels will be 336-meters-long and 60-meters-wide and will be able to hold 300,000 tons of cargo.

Oman Shipping Company (OSC) is expanding courtesy of an order for a pair of newbuild Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC ) with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).According to Michael Jorgensen, OSC's CFO and acting CEO,  said the VLCCs are expected to be deployed in the spot market, as the company plots further fleet expansion in the bulk and container market.Today OSC’s fleet includes 49 vessels including 16 VLCCs, 17 product tankers and 4 chemical carriers.The two latest additions will be constructed at DSME’s Okpo shipyard measuring 336m in length…

South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has won orders to build two very large crude carriers (VLCCs).Oman Shipping Company (OSC), the wholly government-owned national shipping line of the Sultanate of Oman, has signed a deal with DSME for the construction of two next-generation, eco-friendly VLCCs, tweeted OSC.The pair of ECO VLCCs will be built at the Okpo shipyard of DSME, which counts among the world’s largest shipbuilders.“The vessels are of 336-metres length, 60-metres wide, and can each carry 300,000 tonnes of crude; these are next generation eco-friendly vessels that meet the environmental regulation standards of IMO (The International Maritime Organisation).

Oman Shipping Company (OSC) is reporting strong performance in domestic markets following long-term deals with local refineries and traders including ORPIC and OTI.OSC’s growth in the region is being driven by a 20-year contract to transport condensate for ORPIC (Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company) and a 15-year deal transporting methanol for OTI (Oman Trading International) from Salalah Methanol plant.The company is further supporting the export of LPG from Sohar Refinery to Yemen, Sudan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Oman Drydock Company (ODC) appointed Said bin Homoud Al Mawali as Chief Executive Officer replacing Stephan Aumann who announced earlier last year by the ASYAD (formerly Oman Global Logistic Group) board of directors in Duqm/Oman. Prior to his role at ODC, Said was providing leadership and governance for the Executive Management of OTTCO since February 2014. With the 21 years extensive experience in construction, asset management, plant operations, supply chain, cost control, business development…

Oman Ship Management Company (OSMC) has staged a conference in India enabling seafarers to share best practices and expand industry knowledge.It comes as OSMC figures reveal growth in its managed fleet expanding from 27 to 38 in last two years, largely due to expansion in its chartering business. More than 100 delegates joined the Officer’s Conference at the JW Marriot in Juhu, Mumbai. The two-day event involved seafarers from OSMC fleet vessels, office staff, crewing agencies and industry experts such as from Shell, P&I Clubs and Lloyds Register.

Oil storage is feasible with low freight rates, capital costs; backwardation pushes traders to churn oil faster from storage. Norway's Statoil ASA has chartered the last remaining Ultra-Large Crude Carrier (ULCC), the world's largest oil tankers, to store oil off of Malaysia for distribution in smaller parcels to its clients in Asia, company executives said. Statoil has booked the TI Europe, capable of carrying up to 3 million barrels of oil, more than the daily consumption of South Korea, to reduce the time it takes for customers to ship their crude, Stale Endre Berg, senior vice president of crude and refining at Statoil, told Reuters on the sidelines of the APPEC conference.

Oman Shipping Company (OSC) has officially set up a new commercial chartering desk offering its Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCCs) to major traders and charterers covering VLCC routes worldwide. OSC, one of the biggest ship owners in the MENA region, has a diversified and young fleet of 50 vessels. OSC owns 16 VLCCs within the fleet out of which OSC is now commercially managing 15 VLCCs through its subsidiary Oman Charter Company (OCC). The move follows an announcement in December 2016 which saw OSC withdrawing 15 VLCCs from the VL8 pool based in Singapore.

Omani government-owned Oman Shipping Company (OSC) has secured USD 227 million in debt to finance the acquisition of ten tankers, Reuters said citing France-based Societe Generale. The new medium range tankers are chartered to Shell Tankers Singapore for seven years. Societe Generale acted as sole arranger and sole underwriter for the landmark transaction, which involved a combination of export credit agency (ECA) and commercial financing. Seven of the 10 vessels were covered by Korea’s export credit agency, K-Sure. Comprising a combination of commercial debt and export credit agency financing, the agreement covers the purchase of 50,000 dwt medium-range tankers constructed by South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries.

Oman Shipping Company, wholly owned by the government of Oman, raised $227 million in debt to back the purchase of 10 tankers, Societe Generale said on Thursday.   Societe Generale was the sole arranger and sole underwriter of the transaction, which comprised a combination of commercial debt and export credit agency financing.   The commercial portion of the debt package also involved Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, the Korea Development Bank and ABN Amro. Reporting by Davide Barbuscia

Oman Charter Company (OCC), a subsidiary of Oman Shipping Company (OSC), has entered into a contract of affreightment (COA) for its very large crude carriers (VLCCs) with Shell International Eastern Trading Company (Shell) for three years, reports Muscat Daily. "This CoA demonstrates the ability of Oman Shipping Company and its subsidiaries to deliver top shipping solutions that meet the requirements of our esteemed clients," said Tariq al Junaidi, chief executive officer of OSC in a statement. In addition to the 10 MR tankers that we have recently chartered to Shell, this COA demonstrates the ability of Oman Shipping Company and its subsidiaries to deliver top shipping solutions that meet the requirements of our esteemed clients.

Navig8 Group (Navig8), the world's largest provider of maritime services,  has announced that it has been advised by Oman Shipping Company SAOC (OSC) that they have decided to internalize the commercial management of their VLCC fleet which had been hitherto in the VL8 pool. The VL8 pool is one of the largest VLCC tanker pools in the world and one of 16 shipping pools managed by Navig8. The company's 16 shipping pools bring together multiple, like-minded owners with vessels of similar type and characteristics, into distinct pools. Each pool is managed by the Navig8 as a single, cohesive fleet, allowing owners to leverage Navig8's leading network of charterer relationships and strong cargo base.

Oman Shipping Company (OSC) reported a $180 million profit in 2015. Tariq bin Mohammed Al Junaidi, chief executive officer of OSC has been quoted by  Oman News Agency saying that  achieving significant profit came as a result of the good performance of the operations of the company’s business in general. "The profit is a result of an improvement in the rental market of giant oil tankers (as a result of the decline in world oil prices ) resulting from the increase in oil supply in global markets," Al Junaidi  said. This profit will be used to develop and expand the company’s business during the coming period. Al Junaidi also noted that OSC has begun to make profit since the first year of its establishment and did not suffer from any losses…

Oman Drydock Company (ODC) has reported one of its busiest half year periods to date for drydockings, conversions and repairs. Based in Duqm Oman’s new ports and logistics city, ODC is one of the world’s largest shipyards at 1.3 million square meters. ODC deputy CEO Dr. Ahmed Al Abri, said the period July to December 2015 saw the shipyard undertake a range of drydockings taking the total number undertaken since it opened to 375. The work was completed clients including Maran, Dynacom…

Oman Shipping Company (OSC) is launching a new freight service linking all Omani ports to the United Arab Emirates by mid-April, 2016, in a move that aims to boost trade links. OSC’s new fortnightly Oman Express Service will be the first freight feeder operator to connect all Omani ports. It will be run by OSC subsidiary Oman Container Lines (OCL). OSC chief executive Tarik Mohamed Al Junaidi said the new service will be cheaper and faster than the road transport which currently handles all freight to the interiors.

The first cargo ship delivering Iranian goods docked at the Omani port of Sohar,  a few weeks after Tehran and Muscat opened a new shipping route. The vessel, titled Genaveh 12,  container with a capacity of 96 TEUs, is the first ship put into operation in the new Iran-Oman shipping line, which was opened some two weeks ago. Iran and Oman have recently established a direct shipping line between the two countries to enhance maritime trade. The line will have two sailings per month. According to officials, more vessels will join the line to increase the cycle of maritime transportation. Other ports in both the countries will also be linked in the near future.

Ten new medium range product tankers will join the fleet of state-owned Oman Shipping Company (OSC) in the next one year, taking the total strength of the fleet to 53 from 43 now, reports Times of Oman. According to the chief executive officer of Oman Shipping Company Tarik Mohammed Al Junaidi, the company will receive all 10 vessels between November this year and November 2016. The new vessels will be managed by Oman Ship Management Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oman Shipping Company. Al Junaidi said these ships are manufactured in South Korea by Hyundai. He said that about 2 years ago, Oman Shipping secured a deal with Shell for offering 10 mid-range product carriers.

Oman Shipping Company (OSC) has performed the naming ceremony for two new product and chemical tankers – the Muscat Silver and Rustaq Silver. The ceremony took place at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea. OSC will now take delivery of the Muscat Silver as part of a deal which will see 10 MR tankers delivered to it over the next year. All the vessels will be chartered to Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Ltd for its Project Silver, which consists of 50 new-builds. They will each operate worldwide with 20-strong crews - including a number of Omani officers. The Muscat Silver and Rustaq Silver are both 183 metres in length and 32.2 metres wide, with a depth of 19.1 metres.