Oman Shipping Company Eyes Fleet Growth as It Reaps Fruit from Long-Term Deals

Oman Shipping Company (OSC), which caters for the needs of the Omani industry, has reported strong performance in domestic markets following long-term deals with local refineries and traders.

Namely, the company secured a 20-year contract to transport condensate for Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (ORPIC) and a 15-year deal transporting methanol for Oman Trading International (OTI) from Salalah Methanol plant.

“As part of our long-term contract with ORPIC we have deployed two chemical carriers along the coast of Oman. One is a condensate carrier, which loads on average 10,000 cubic metres of condensate from Qalhat in Sur and discharges the product for use in refineries including Mina Al Fahal in Muscat and Suhar. The second carrier is transporting refined products (Mogas 91, Mogas 95 & Gas Oil, Jet Fuel), loading from Sohar and discharging in Salalah. ORPIC’s refineries, aromatics and polypropylene production plants produce condensate, chemicals, plastics and other petroleum products for domestic use as well as export for other countries as well,” OSC General Manager Commercial, Tankers & Gas, Debasish Mohapatra said.

“OSC is also responsible for the transportation of half-a-million tonnes of methanol from Salalah Methanol Company. This is a standalone plant designed to produce methanol of Federal AA and IMPC grade. OSC’s contract involves the long-term charter of two dedicated methanol tankers to OTI, responsible for marketing the product globally. The average quantity of methanol being transported is around 40,000 metric tonnes per vessel with OSC discharging mostly to China and Europe.”

OSC is further supporting the export of LPG from Sohar Refinery to Yemen, Sudan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka through two  small pressurized LPG carriers. This involves the transportation of 3,850 metric tonnes per vessel on average to the Middle East market, as well as Africa and Asia.

 “As part of our new strategy we signed a Contract of Affreightment with Shell International Eastern Trading Company, a Shell subsidiary, for a period of three years. This gave us a substantial cargo base for the entire fleet to kick-start the operation. The vessels are technically managed by Oman Ship Management Company, based in the same office as OCC, which enables us to operate a fast, efficient and coordinated operation for clients,” he added.

As explained, these medium and long-term contracts with the likes of ORPIC, OTI and Shell, provide OSC with steady cash flow to invest and expand its fleet further.

“We believe OSC is very well placed to capitalise on growth opportunities which lie ahead in both domestic and international sector,” Mohapatra added.