Dubai based ship-owner and maritime services company, Gulf Navigation Holding, has acquired a new Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) as part of its expansion strategy in the crude oil market. The new crude carrier, to be named Gulf Eyadah, was built in 2006 and has a 300,000 deadweight ton capacity, or two million barrels of oil. The ship is expected to be delivered next month and will be chartered the same day to an unnamed international firm for two years.
The company said that it has reached an agreement for financing the acquisition with a major European bank.
Gulf Eyadah will join Gulf Navigation’s existing VLCC, Gulf Sheba, which was built by the Company and delivered late 2007. Just like its sister vessel, the new VLCC will be technically managed by Gulf-Stolt Ship Management Company of Dubai, GulfNav’s joint venture with Norwegian ship owner Stolt Neilsen.
Commenting on the acquisition, Abdullah Al Shuraim, chairman of the board of Gulf Navigation Holding said: “Gulf Eyadah is dear to us, not only because of the name which commemorates the contributions of our late friend and board member Mohammad Al Eyadah, but also because it inaugurates our strategic plan for expansion in the VLCC market. The acquisition is also the beginning of our fleet modernisation scheme, which continues to be a high priority on our agenda.”
Per Wistoft, CEO of Gulf Navigation Holding, added: “This is an important move for us on two fronts; generating immediate and better revenues, thus positive impact on our results; and increasing our carriage capacity to serve new customers. We are committed to providing our customers with state-of-the-art quality service, and Gulf Eyadah is a milestone of many more to come.”
