A further seven VLCCs will be delivered by the end of this year from two Chinese yards and the remaining four are expected to be commissioned by the end of 2013 as part of a total contract worth $1.2bn.
The new tankers would boost NITC's fleet at a time when the number of maritime firms willing to transport Iranian crude has dwindled significantly due to tighter Western sanctions.
The 12 new VLCCs will be capable of transporting 24m barrels of crude, adding on to NITC's existing fleet of 39 ships including 25 VLCCs.
The Iranian firm's current fleet can ship 61.5m barrels of crude. The company would need approximately an extra 17 VLCCs above the 12 it has on order to have the capacity to ship all of Iran's crude exports to Asia, according to Reuters calculations.
Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. Seatrade, a trading name of Informa Markets (UK) Limited. Add Seatrade Maritime News to your Google News feed.
