Gulf Importers

New OSC vessel joins fleet

The Muscat Silver, which will be chartered by Shell International Trading and Shipping Company

Two product and chemical carriers had a naming ceremony performed by their owners Oman Shipping Company (OSC) at the Hyundai Mipo Dockwayd in Ulsan, South Korea.

The vessels are Muscat Silver and Rustaq Silver. OSC will now take delivery of the Muscat Silver as part of a deal which will see 10 medium range (MR) tankers delivered to it over the next year.

All the vessels will be chartered by Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Ltd for its Project Silver, which consists of 50 newbuilds. They will each operate worldwide with 20-strong crews – including a number of Omani officers.

Both are 183 m in length and 32.2 m wide, with a depth of 19.1 m

Each medium range tanker’s capacity was 37,900 tonnes at the design draft and 49,800  tonnes at the scantling draft. They have a gross tonnage of 29,354 tonnes and net tonnage of 12,195.

OSC general manager Wasam Al Najjar said OSC – already one of the biggest ship operators in the Gulf – would strengthen and consolidate its position in the hydrocarbon shipping sector with the new vessels.

“The delivery of the Muscat Silver boosts OSC’s fleet to 44 ships,” he said. “This is just the beginning of our expansion too with the next nine ships due to be delivered within 12 months, which is testament to OSC’s capacity and ambition. Our investment in new ships demonstrates we can offer the very best and very latest shipping solutions to major operators like Shell. Entering into new joint venture agreements to expand our fleet is the key to OSC’s ongoing business development.

OSC will also be offering ship management services for both vessels via its subsidiary Oman Ship Management Company (OSMC).

 

DIVERSIFICATION ROLE

Al Najjar said the continued growth and success of OSC will play a key role in the Omani Government’s wider plan to diversify the Omani economy. Under the Government’s vision, ports and shipping are fundamental to the future prosperity of the country, driving job and wealth creation.

Incorporated in 2003, OSC is owned by the Omani Government through the Ministry of Finance (80 per cent) and Oman Oil Company (20 per cent). Launched with the acquisition of six LNG vessels, OSC has since diversified into the crude oil, chemical, LPG, dry bulk, container and general cargo markets.

Aside from Shell, other customers have included Mitsubishi Corporation, Itochu Corporation, Oman LNG, Qalhat LNG, Petronet, Qatar Gas and Oman Refinery & Petrochemical Company.

Currently OSC operates vessels having a total cargo carrying capacity of about eight million tonnes.

When all 10 MR product tankers under construction are delivered, the company will have a total fleet of about 8.5 million DWT.

The company is also involved in ship owning and ship chartering through its subsidiary companies Oman Charter Company (OCC) and Oman Container Line (OCL).