Sweden’s Concordia Maritime has sealed a deal to charter in an IMO2/3 class MR tanker while also extending the charter of another.
The new charter is for a vessel currently under construction and will run for a two-year period, with options, from January 2018 when the vessel is delivered.
Additionally, Concordia has also extended the expiring charter of an MR tanker for a further one year.
Both vessels are join charters with Stena Bulk, on a 50-50 basis, and will be operated by the MR pool within Stena Bulk Product & Chemicals.
Kim Ullman, CEO of Concordia Maritime, commented: “Together with the vessels we chartered in this summer, these contracts should be seen as a clear sign of our view of the market in the period ahead. After a period of weak markets, we expect a gradually stronger and more balanced market from mid-2018. The main drivers include reduced inventory levels, which will result in increased demand for oil transportation. The situation on the supply side is also beginning to look better. The order book is relatively low and net growth in new MR vessels is only expected to be about 2 percent in 2018.”
