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Archive - Archive 2004 - July 2013

Sepec to add two more tankers to fleet |06 May 2005

Sepec to add two more tankers to fleet

The Pioneer and Progress at Lindenau earlier this year. The proposed two new additions will bring Seychelles' tanker fleet to five

The national petroleum company announced Wednesday that two new tankers are about to be ordered from the German Lindenau shipyard, on the back of the success of the tanker operations so far and the growing global demand for double hulled tankers.

Speaking to Seychelles Nation Sepec executive chairman, Captain Guy Adam, said that the order for the two new tankers, provisionally named Seychelles Patriot and Seychelles Prelude, will likely be given the green light by the Sepec board in the coming days after which Lindenau, the shipyard of the existing three-tanker fleet, will get ready to turn out two more Sepec bound tankers.

The two new tankers will be four metres longer and four metres wider than the Progress and Pioneer, pushing up their dead-weight from 37,500 tonnes to 45,000 tonnes, and boosting their load space.

With the increase in size and specification, coupled with the general increase in the cost of tanker construction, the new tankers will cost Euro 40 million, a jump from the Euro 34.3 million price tag of the last vessel.

While the current tanker fleet is serving ports predominantly around the Mediterranean and on the west African coast, Capt. Adam said that, with the increase in size, the new ships will have a much greater reach. The increased width means that the new ships are only just within the size limit to use the Panama Canal and also shifts them into a higher cargo category than the existing Sepec ships, avoiding competition between the fleet.

To cope with the increased size of the new vessels bigger engines will be installed than those on the Pioneer and Progress and the new ships will also feature a range of new environmental protection facilities, such as a ballast water changing system, to prevent the spread of invasive species around the world's ports.

Asked if the fleet could grow even further, Capt. Adam said, "Now the plan is for five tankers, but if we are doing well, why not build more."

Work on the Patriot will likely start in March 2007, with a date of delivery to Sepec pencilled in for December that year.

Seychelles Prelude will follow in March 2008.

The loan for the new ships will be paid over a twelve-year period at an interest rate of 2.89 percent and Capt. Adam said that charter of the tankers would cover the cost of repaying the loans as well as bringing in money for Sepec to import fuel.

 

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