| Maersk Tanks orders nine MR tankers |
| Maersk Tankers, the product tanker unit in the AP Moller-Maersk group of Denmark, says it has ordered nine medium-range (MR) vessels from the Samsung Heavy Industries Ningbo shipyard in China. “The order, with a contract value of approximately USD300 million, is for nine MR vessels with a capacity of 49,940 dwt each,” the company said in a statement. “The investment of approximately USD300 million in newbuildings is a clear indication of Maersk Tankers’ commitment to remain at the very top of the product tanker industry.” The nine vessels, whose flag states have not yet been determined, will join Maersk Tankers’ fleet in 2017 and 2018. They will follow eight MR vessels ordered earlier at the Sung Dong shipyard in South Korea, which will be delivered this year and in 2016. Maersk Tankers has transformed into a pure product tanker company over the past few years. It sold its LNG and VLCC fleets and in 2008 and paid USD574 million for Broström, a Swedish product tanker company that operated a fleet of 130 vessels at that time. At the moment, Maersk Tankers owns 80 vessels and charters in another 20, but it says it is looking to add both newbuildings and secondhand vessels to its fleet. |