The Shipping Corporation of India Ltd (SCI), today signed contracts with Daewoo Ship Building and Marine Engineering CoLtd of South Korea for building and delivering two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCS).
The tankers, to be built at DSME's shipbuilding yard in South Korea, would have a deadweight of about 300,000 tonnes at the design draft of 21.5 metres. The tankers would be built as per the latest and most stringent International Regulations and would be classed with the ABS and IRS Classification Societies. These vessels would join SCI's fleet by end of October 2008 and end-September 2009 respectively, SCI sources said.
The SCI's present fleet stands at 84 vessels aggregating about 2.84 million GT (4.93 million DWT) comprising general cargo vessels, cellular container vessels, crude oil tankers (including combination carrier), product tankers, bulk carriers, LPG/Amonia carriers, acid carriers, passenger vessels and offshore supply vessels.
Acquisition of these crude carriers, which were in line with the SCI's strategy of maintaining a young and modern fleet, will augment SCI's tanker tonnage and strengthen its position in transportation of the country's crude oil requirement, particularly in view of the increasing
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