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NITC To Receive First Of 12 Chinese-Built VLCCs

National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) Managing Director Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh announced on 16 April that “within the next few days” Iran would receive the first of 12 very large crude carriers (VLCCs) it has commissioned from two Chinese shipbuilders. Mr Zirakchianzadeh said that the first tanker is a floating storage and offloading vessel that will expand NITC’s ability to withstand international pressures on its oil exports. Reuters reported on 16 April that NITC has invested $1.2bn for the construction of the 2mn barrels capacity tankers – six by Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and six by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry.

The contract has been financed by China’s state-owned Export-Import (Exim) Bank. The bank’s loans are leveraged against the delivery of Iranian crude oil exports to China. In 2002-04 Dalian built five VLCCs for NITC. NITC currently operates 39 tankers, of which 25 are VLCCs. The addition of 12 new VLCCs, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2013, is intended to increase NITC’s overall oil transportation capacity to 180mn tons/year (3.6mn b/d). NITC operates the world’s fourth largest crude carrier fleet.

The new VLCCs will boost NITC’s ability to export or store crude oil at a time when it is becoming increasingly difficult to insure shipments of Iranian oil. On 23 March EU foreign ministers voted to exempt until 30 June EU insurers from sanctions preventing tankers operators carrying Iranian crude from obtaining protection and indemnity (P&I) cover (MEES, 2 April).

© Copyright MEES 2012.