S Korean yard builds 10 chem tankers for UACC

13 December 2007 15:06  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Gulf-based United Arab Chemical Carriers (UACC) has signed contracts with the South Korean yard SLS Shipbuilding Co to build 10 45,000 dwt chemical and product tankers, UACC said on Thursday.

One of the major shareholders of UACC is the Dubai-based United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) which is primarily a container ship operator.

“We had realised that many of our container clients were shipping more chemical products and they were expanding their production of petrochemical products,” said UACC spokesman Brian Baker.

The company was formed in July of this year in response to this demand and it is developing its capacity in order to be able to meet the needs of its customers.

The new ships will be delivered in 2011 and early 2012 and will be additions to the one 2004-built second-hand tanker and four other second-hand vessels due for delivery soon.

UACC chairman Ken Bloch Soerensen, said, this development “marks the beginning of our ambitious plan to become a major player in the rapidly growing petrochemical market across the GCC countries. 

"It is our aim to ensure that the expansive projects of our customers are well supported by cost-efficient, safe and environmentally friendly means of transportation," he added.

Chemical products expected to be transported from the region are monoethylene glycol (MEG), methanol and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE).

By: Nick Savvides
+44 20 8652 3214

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