Saudi receives 4th oil tanker from Hyundai

Automotive company Hyundai has delivered a fourth oil tanker to the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) as part of a deal which will see the South Korean giant provide five to the oil rich nation.

The carrier is one of five oil tankers financed by Standard Chartered Bank, Arab National Bank, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Bank Al Bilad, the company said in a statement today.

The company expects the commercial operation of the new carrier to start this month and for the financial benefits to become evident in the second quarter of this year.

Bahri first signed a deal to buy five very large crude tankers from ship builders Hyundai Heavy Industries in May 2015. These were to be delivered in 2017. The agreement allowed Bahri to buy a further five vessels. No details were given about the cost of the deal.

Bahri, which has a capital of $784 million, is 42.6 per cent owned by the Saudi government and 20 per cent owned by Saudi Aramco (the world’s largest oil company).

The company works in the field of buying vessels and tools, transport vehicles and selling them, and the transfer of exports outside the Kingdom by sea.

The company’s fleet reached 91 vessels, including 44 large oil tankers, 36 tankers of petroleum chemicals and products, six mixed-use tankers and five cargo carriers.

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