Al Seer Marine continues global expansion strategy with Dh396 million VLCC Acrux acquisition

Abu Dhabi: Al Seer Marine (ADX: ASM), a global player across multiple marine sectors and International Holding Company (IHC) subsidiary, announced Wednesday its third mega VLCC acquisition valued at Dh396 million bringing its total VLCC fleet value to Dh900 million in four months.

VLCC Acrux (previously Elandra Everest) is the name of the third VLCC vessel Al Seer Marine has taken delivery of in October this year, increasing its total fleet to 10 ships as the company continues analyzing its expansion initiatives in crude and product tankers, gas tankers, and dry bulk shipping sectors in 2022.

Guy Neivens, Chief Executive Officer of Al Seer Marine, said: “The Sentiment for Tankers is strong, with VLCC earnings having risen consistently since June and continues its upward trajectory. The Global tanker demand is expected to grow by about 5 per cent in 2023, exacerbated by rising production and the reorganization of some of the trade routes; we expect our fleet to provide returns on equity of over 20 per cent over the lifecycle of the fleet.”

Today, Al Seer Marine’s fleet is valued at more than Dh1.2 billion and is expected to grow with the company’s short-term plans of acquiring more than 2 ships in the next three months. In addition to the three VLCC, Al Seer Marine recently acquired two liquified petroleum gas (LPG) tankers valued at a combined Dh259 million and has two 86,000 cubic meters of Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC) currently under Construction as part of a joint venture with BGN International.

"Al Seer Marine continues to strengthen; we have massively grown our operation in the past 10 months; with the Acrux acquisition, we are on track to become one the key players in the global maritime sector." Neivens added.