Business | Shipping
Berlian plans fleet expansion
Indonesia's largest shipper of liquid cargo, Berlian Laju Tanker, said last week that it plans to increase its fleet by up to 15 vessels as part of a $500 million expansion plan that will see the company expand beyond palm-oil and chemicals into LNG.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:00 April 23, 2007
- Berlian Laju Tanker says half of the new vessels may be bought second-hand, which is quicker than building them new.
- The LNG carriers, to be delivered in 2008 and 2009, will be jointly owned by US shipper Teekay Shipping.
- The two carriers will be used to transport LNG from Indonesia's Tangguh gas field to the US west coast under a 20-year contract.
- The company was also looking for charters to transport vegetable oil from South American producers to Europe and China. This is already big business for Berlian, which transports palmoil from Malaysia and Indonesia to China, India and Pakistan.
Singapore: Indonesia's largest shipper of liquid cargo, Berlian Laju Tanker, said last week that it plans to increase its fleet by up to 15 vessels as part of a $500 million expansion plan that will see the company expand beyond palm-oil and chemicals into LNG.
The company - which has a total of 59 vessels, including oil and chemical tankers and gas carriers - announced the expansion plan earlier last week but gave no details. The plan will be put to a shareholder vote at a meeting on May 24.
Berlian business development director Siana Anggraeni Surya said in an interview that more than half of the new vessels may be bought second-hand, which is quicker than building them new.
Looking for charters
Last year, the company - which is listed in both Jakarta and Singapore - already earmarked $400 million to build 13 new vessels, which are now under construction at yards in Japan and South Korea for delivery by 2011. Those 13 vessels under construction included two liquified natural gas (LNG) carriers.
"The LNG carriers would be our first foray into the LNG market which we believe has lots of growth potential both in Indonesia and elsewhere," Siana Anggraeni Surya, Berlian's business development director, said.
Surya is the daughter of company chairman Hadi Surya, who owns 48.7 per cent of the firm, which has a market value of $920 million.
The LNG carriers, to be delivered in 2008 and 2009, will be jointly owned by US shipper Teekay Shipping.
The two carriers will be used to transport LNG from Indonesia's Tangguh gas field to the US west coast under a 20-year contract, Surya said.
Teekay has a 70 per cent stake in the LNG carriers, she said.
Surya said Berlian Laju was also looking for contracts for Floating Storage Offloading (FSO) and Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessels to expand into the offshore oil industry services sector, as more offshore fields are likely to be developed in Australia and Southeast Asia.
"We are looking for a few FSO and FPSO contracts and if we do get one we will start by converting one of our own tankers," she said.
Berlian owns one FPSO, converted from an oil tanker in 2000, which is currently working on Indonesia's Salawati oil field in Papua.
Surya said the company was also looking for charters to transport vegetable oil from South American producers to Europe and China. This is already big business for Berlian, which transports palmoil from Malaysia and Indonesia to China, India and Pakistan.
"Moving to South America is part of our strategy to spread the business geographically," she said.
Big business: Half of new vessels to be second-hand
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