China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) has signed charter agreements with the subsidiaries of British Petroleum (BP) and Taiwan’s CPC Corporation for one supertanker each.
The companies will hire Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC) for a period of up to three years.
The contracts are valued at RMB 495 million (USD 75.5m), accounting for 19% of the company’s total revenue in 2014.
Separately, CMES announced that it has sold another six aging 49,000 dwt dry bulk cargo ships for scrap for a total price of RMB 147.8 million.
The move is part of the company’s efforts to dispose of the aging vessels and replace them with new tonnage.
The disposed ships were built by Japanaese Oshima Shipyard from 1995-1997, making the sold ships 18-20 years old and near the end of their 25-year life span.
World Maritime News Staff