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Home FPSO Bumi Armada denies buying ‘Front Ariake’ VLCC

Bumi Armada denies buying ‘Front Ariake’ VLCC

October 16, 2018

Malaysia’s FPSO specialist Bumi Armada has denied reports that it has acquired a Very Large Crude Carrier from Ship Finance International.

For illustration only; A Bumi Armada FPSO / Image source: Frans Berkelaar/Flickr; Shared under CC BY-ND 2.0 license
For illustration only; A Bumi Armada FPSO / Image source: Frans Berkelaar/Flickr; Shared under CC BY-ND 2.0 license

The sale of the Front Ariake VLCC was announced on October 1 by the owner Ship Finance International, however, SFI at the time did not say who the buyer was.

It just said that the 2001-built VLCC Front Ariake had been sold to an unrelated third party for $20.7 million.

In a report last week, Intermodal Shipbrokers Co said Bumi Armada was the buyer. According to VesselsValue, the VLCC was sold for conversion.

In a statement on Tuesday, Bumi Armada said: “We refer to recent articles reporting that Bumi Armada Berhad has acquired a Very Large Crude Carrier Front Ariake. The company wishes to clarify that it did not purchase the VLCC Front Ariake.”

Bumi Armada is a company providing FPSO units for the international oil and gas companies. While the company does not have VLCCs in its fleet, it is not unusual for an FPSO to acquire a VLCC. Namely, VLCCs can be converted into FPSO.