I.M. Skaugen ASA today announced that SPT, its 50% owned joint venture company, entered into a bareboat charter party for 4 tankers to be managed by Bergshav Management AS and to be owned by Bergshav Tankers AS, Norway and a company owned by Polys Haji-Ioannou, Greece. The agreements will be effective from delivery of the newbuildings from the shipyard with an expected commencement date ranging through 2007. The Bareboat charters are for a period of 10 years, plus options for additional periods. The 4 tankers will be built at a Tsuneishi Corp. in Japan and the newbuilding price agreed reflects the market for such vessels.
SPT is the largest company in the specialized business of "ship-to-ship transfer" of crude oil and currently handles approximately 1.4 million barrels of oil a day, which equates to roughly 14 percent of the US oil imports.
The changing patterns in the sourcing of US crude oil imports, the fluctuating demand from the customers and the volatility of rates in the Aframax tanker market have made it necessary for SPT to secure a more steady supply of modern tonnage.
SPT is owned jointly by Teekay Shipping Corporation (www.teekay.com) and I.M. Skaugen ASA since October 1st 2003. With the additional backing of Teekay the business of SPT should grow further to solidify its position, as the No. 1 "ship to ship transfer" business in the world.