Oman Shipping signs pact for three new vessels

Muscat: Oman Shipping Company (OSC), a member of the Asyad Group, announced on Wednesday 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 new-builds will increase company oil shipping revenues by 10 per cent. Long-term contracts with international oil majors are already in place for all ships.
Wednesday’s announcement has been 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 logistic 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 new-builds.
Asyad’s OSC is an integral part of Oman’s drive to become a top-ten global logistics hub, andis 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 bi-annual group stakeholder event, of 14 per cent year on year Ebitda growth in first half of 2019, with a projected full-year forecast of 23 per cent growth.