Kuwait Oil Tanker Co (KOTC) is evaluating offers from South Korean shipyards to build two new aframax tankers.
The newbuildings will form part of an on-going fleet development plan, the first phase of which involved the delivery of 10 ships including two VLCCs and a couple of panamax tankers.
The state-owned company kicked off phase two by ordering four VLCCs at Daewoo which will now be delivered this year, much earlier than originally scheduled.
Bader Al Otaibi, KOTC’s planning affairs group manager, says the company is also “seriously” thinking of carrying “other types” of cargoes for its parent company Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) for which tonnage will also be acquired.
(To view a WebTV interview with Al Otaibi click on the screen to the right of this article.)
The owner already has a fleet of 24 vessels which includes two modern LPG ships. All are time chartered to KPC hauling a large proportion of its crude and oil products exports. This strategy will continue, says Al Otaibi.
The planning chief confirms that KOTC has placed three of its four single hull VLCCs on the S&P market.
It was not intended to sell the ships but KOTC, says Al Otaibi, received a lot of inquiries at encouraging price levels from potential buyers.
The tankers, which are less than 20 years old, are described as in excellent condition and finding further employment with them through KPC would not have been a problem. It is unclear whether they will go for further trading, conversion or demolition.
“We are concerned about the environment and want to fulfill our IMO phase out of single hull (tanker) requirements,” said Al Otaibi.
