Tanker owner Concordia Maritime announced it has moved to strengthen its positions in the crude oil segment by chartering in another suezmax vessel.
The 158,000 dwt suezmax vessel that has been chartered in was built in Korea in 2015. As with previous charters, this is a joint charter with Stena Bulk, and Concordia Maritime’s share amounts to 50 percent. The contract is for 12 months, and the vessel will be employed on the spot market through the Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool from July.
Kim Ullman, CEO of Concordia Maritime, said, “We continue to act based on our belief in a progressively stronger market from autumn 2018 onwards, and we have now brought in a total of four suezmax vessels on 50 percent charters. We have increased our earning capacity through the contracts, and the weak market has enabled us to enter into the contracts at a level that is advantageous to us.”
In parallel, Concordia Maritime has signed an agreement extending a contract to charter out the P-MAX tanker Stena Paris to one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies from July 2018 to July 2019. Stena Paris has been used by the same customer since 2013 for consecutive niche transportation of refined petroleum products, mainly in the Asia Pacific region.
“For our part, the contract means that we ensure employment for this specialized vessel for another year, while continuing our cooperation with one of the world’s largest oil companies,” Ullman said.