KUALA LUMPUR: MISC Bhd’s petroleum shipping unit, AET Tanker Holdings Sdn Bhd (AET), has taken delivery of Eagle Petrolina, the first of four Suezmax dynamic positioning (DP2) shuttle tankers purpose-built for long-term charter to Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras).
AET said the tanker, which has a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of 152,000, was delivered last Friday.
The vessel would begin its operations by the end of next month, joining the two vessels AET was already operating in the Brazilian Basin for Petrobras, the company said in a statement today.
“Eagle Petrolina was built at Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) in South Korea where her three sisters (with the same DWT) are currently under construction and due to be delivered later this year,” it said.
According to AET, amid the Covid-19 outbreak, all extra health and safety precautions were taken by the AET, with Eaglestar site teams working closely together with the SHI team to safeguard the ongoing construction and delivery.
In May 2018, AET and Petrobras entered into a long-term charter to operate four Suezmax shuttle tankers in the Brazilian Basin with a firm charter period of 10 years, and Eagle Petrolina is the first of these contracted vessels.
On taking delivery, AET president and CEO Captain Rajalingam Subramanian said constructing and delivering Eagle Petrolina safely amid the Covid-19 outbreak was a big accomplishment and testament to the commitment of all the parties involved.
“For AET, seeing the agreement we reached with Petrobras two years ago now coming into operation is another important step in growing our specialist DP activities in the Brazilian Basin and our partnership with Petrobras,” he said.
AET currently operates seven DP shuttle tankers, including Eagle Petrolina, and has a further 10 shuttle tankers under construction to be delivered between 2020 and 2022. – May 26, 2020, Bernama
