Thoresen Further Expands Fleet with Supramax Ships

Thoresen Shipping, a wholly owned subsidiary of Thoresen Thai Agency (TTA), has added three more Supramax dry bulk ships to its fleet, taking the company’s capacity to more than 1.1 million deadweight tonnes.

The three new young and efficient vessels grow Thoresen Shipping’s fleet to a total of 23 ships, with an average age of approximately 10.58 years old and an average capacity of 50,402 deadweight tonnes.

The larger fleet provides more trading options for the company’s chartering team and reduces potential ballast time.

Mr. Chalermchai Mahagitsiri, TTA’s President & CEO, said, “We are very pleased to be able to demonstrate tangible investments that have been made possible as a result of the support shown to the company through our recent, successful rights offer. Growth in demand in the dry bulk trade has begun to outpace supply, and as a result freight rates have started edging upwards. By injecting this capital into Thoresen Shipping, we are enabling the company to further expand its owned fleet, take advantage of this market recovery, and ultimately increase returns to shareholders. We will continue to look for more opportunities to continue driving growth through expansion.”

Since the beginning of 2014, Thoresen Shipping has acquired five second hand vessels, all built by Oshima Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Shipyard in Japan. The company will take delivery of the three new vessels between May and June 2014.

Mr. Ian Claxton, Managing Director, Thoresen Shipping said, “These three newly added vessels further strengthen our ability to enhance service for our growing customer base across our ever widening global network in the dry bulk sector. Our approach to fleet enhancement is driven by a focus on acquiring young second hand vessels that are immediately operational and revenue generating, while still benefitting from the efficiencies associated with new-builds.”

Further to the expanded capacity, the new vessels have the added advantage of being equipped with equipment similar to that employed elsewhere in the Thoresen Shipping fleet, enabling the company to achieve further cost efficiencies through economies of scale.

The fleet expansion forms part of Thorensen Shipping’s current growth strategy, and follows the recent announcement of the company’s widening of its geographical footprint through the opening of an office in South Africa.

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March 13, 2014