Oman Shipping to invest in 3 new VLCCs

MUSCAT, JUNE 26 - Oman Shipping Company (OSC), a member of the ASYAD Group, announced yesterday the signing of an agreement with South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to build three environmentally-friendly, Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) as part of the company’s fleet renewal strategy. Through its new assets, OSC will enhance its competitive advantage and solidify its position as both a market-leader and as one of the top 12 VLCC operators worldwide. The new orders will provide customers with additional high-quality, economical and technologically-advanced vessels.

Once operational, OSC predicts that the three VLCC newbuilds will increase company oil shipping revenues by 10 per cent. Long-term contracts with international oil majors are already in place for all ships. Yesterday’s announcement was made possible by Oman Shipping Company’s commitment to re-invest in additional growth — increasing connectivity between Oman’s ports and global ports in response to expanding customer demand and reinforcing the Sultanate’s logistics competitiveness. Each of the vessels will be 336-metres-long and 60-metres-wide and will be able to hold 300,000 tonnes of cargo. All of the new orders will also meet future environmental requirements — including IMO 2020 standards — as well as benefit from DSME’s market-leading efficient-design for newbuilds.

ASYAD’s OSC is an integral part of Oman’s drive to become a top-ten global logistics hub, and is supporting the integration of all supply chain activities in the Sultanate — providing customers with rapid and unrivalled distribution capabilities across the world, as well as acting as the region’s business-sense gateway to global markets. OSC is a full-scale shipping company handling ship owning, technical management and chartering.

Signing the agreement with DSME on behalf of OSC, ASYAD Group CEO Abdulrahman al Hatmi commented: Oman Shipping Company’s capabilities and customer offering are growing from strength to strength in response to increasing demand. OSC’s fleet renewal programme reflects the company’s commitment to high-quality services, enhanced global connectivity and industry-leading competitiveness.”

The announcement follows record ASYAD financial results last week at Majlis ASYAD, the biannual Group stakeholder event, of 14 per cent year on year EBITDA growth in H1 2019, with a projected full-year forecast of 23 per cent growth.

The shipping arm of ASYAD Group, Oman Shipping Company provides a wide range of business activities including; ship owning, chartering and technical management. With a fleet of 50 vessels including LNG Carriers, LPG Carriers, VLCCs, Tankers, VLOCs and Containerships, Oman Shipping Company offers shipping solutions to Oil, Gas, Dry Bulk and General Cargo sectors.

The company undertakes several shipping related activities via the following subsidiaries: Oman Ship Management Company SAOC (OSMC), Oman Charter Company SAOC (OCC) and Oman Container Lines (OCL).