Immediately after signing contract with signed with Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries to build five VLCCs, with an option to build additional five VLCCs, the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) signed a contract with Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries to build additional five VLCCs, total VLCCs presently under construction will become ten.
These carriers will be delivered during 2017/2018. The financial impact of these contracts will appear after the delivery of the vessels. The Company will announce the financing details at a later time.
These VLCCs are designed to the latest international technical specifications and are fitted with environmentally friendly specifications and high efficiency in fuel consumption, with a capacity of 300,000 DWT/ per carrier. The signing of these contracts is for continuous renewal of the current fleet to meet the needs of the local and global markets.
Once again, Bahri says that the signing of the contracts is for continuous renewal of the current fleet to meet the needs of the local and global markets and that financing details will be announced at a later time.
With a fleet of 31 VLCCs, Bahri is the exclusive provider of VLCC crude oil shipping services to state-owned Saudi Aramco under a long-term agreement signed in 2012. Bahri also owns 24 chemical carriers , 6 Ro-Ro vessels and 5 bulk carriers.
Hyundai Heavy Industries, which suffered a record loss of KRW2.8 trillion (USD2.5 billion) in 2014, appears to be rebounding with the recovery in tanker freight rates. The upswing, brought about by the drop in oil prices, has prompted shipowners to invest in VLCCs.