Indonesian state-owned oil and gas company Pertamaina has placed orders for eight 17,500dwt tankers at three local shipyards as part of its fleet expansion plan.
The ships, valued at around $200m, will be built at three local shipyards PT Anggrek Hitam Shipyard, PT Daya Radar Utama and PT Multi Ocean Shipyard.
PT Anggrek Hitam will build two vessels, while PT Daya Radar Utama and PT Multi Ocean Shipyard will construct three each.
Most shipyards in Indonesia can only construct small and medium sized vessels. Pertamina’s largest locally made vessel is MT Fastron, built by PT PAL with a capacity of 30,000dwt.
“We challenge domestic shipbuilding companies to build vessels with bigger capacity and of higher standards. The national shipbuilding companies must be able to build vessels that are allowed to sail worldwide,” said Wianda Pusponegoro, vice president, corporate communications of Pertamina.