STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(Business Wire)--Regulatory News:
Stena Bulk has purchased three MR* product tankers for a total of
approx. SEK 1 billion from Italian Gestioni Armatoriali Spa in Ravenna
with delivery set for February, 2008. The three vessels, the Stena
Conqueror, the Stena Conquest and the Stena Italica, which Stena has
controlled via long-term charters ever since they were built, will
continue to be operated from Stena Bulk's office in Houston. They will
transport clean petroleum products for, among others, US oil companies
including Chevron.
The three MR vessels are modern, well-designed product tankers of
47,000 dwt built at the classic shipyard Uljanik in Croatian Pula in
2003-2004. They are earmarked for traffic in the US and the Caribbean.
The class of ships goes under the name Stena S-47 and is characterised
by a very shallow draft and a highly flexible cargo system.
"The acquisition of the three Gestioni tankers is a strategic one
intended to secure our business position in the US and, at the same
time, to ensure that they are not sold to a third party", says Ulf G.
Ryder, President & CEO of Stena Bulk.
The Stena Conqueror, the Stena Conquest and the Stena Italica,
together with a further four identical vessels, form a group - the
so-called "Seven Sisters", which Stena has controlled ever since they
were built.
"In order to be able to retain our market shares, our contract
portfolio in certain geographical core areas must contain a specific
number of vessels. At the same time, this is a prerequisite for us to
be able to deliver a high level of service in our long-term customer
relationships. With this acquisition we have now expanded our core
fleet for several years ahead", says Kim Ullman, Executive Vice
President & COO of Stena Bulk.
* MR = Medium Range, 47,000 dwt.
With offices in six countries, Stena Bulk is one of the world's
leading tanker shipping companies, supplying customers with innovative
solutions to their transportation and logistics requirements and
using, for example, its own technical design department. The company
has a regulated fleet of approximately 70 tankers and operates
throughout the tanker market. Stena Bulk is also responsible for
marketing and operating the Concordia Maritime fleet. Stena Bulk is
part of the Stena Sphere. The Stena Sphere is in excess of 16,000
employees and revenue of SEK 46 billion. www.stenabulk.com and
www.thenewsmarket.com/stenabulk
This information was brought to you by Cision
http://newsroom.cision.com
Stena Bulk AB
Ulf G. Ryder
President & CEO,
Mobile: +46 704 85 50 01
or
Kim Ullman
Executive Vice President & COO,
Mobile: +46 704 85 50 03
Copyright Business Wire 2008
