MOL Bets on Offshore Shipping

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) has agreed to establish a ship-owning joint venture with Norway’s Viken Shipping AS, and to participate in a shuttle tanker project. The joint company is called Viken MOL AS, and will be managed from Viken Shipping’s office in Bergen.

The initial investment by the joint company will be the acquisition of a company of Viken Shipping Group, which owns five crude oil shuttle tankers currently serving on long-term charter contract with Petrobras Transporte S.A. of Brazil (Transpetro), a wholly owned petroleum and gas transport subsidiary Petrobras, Brazil’s national oil company.

MOL and Viken Shipping share an ambition to develop long term cooperation through Viken MOL AS, centered on joint investments in high quality vessels under long-term contracts with reputable charterers. Although the initial investment is in crude oil shuttle tankers, the joint venture is not intended to be restricted to this marked segment only.

MOL expects offshore business including shuttle tankers to become the backbone of the company’s operations as it seeks to secure mid- and long-term contracts that generate stable profits.