Supertanker Gulf Sheba joins Gulf Navigation fleet

This addition to its fleet confirms the company as a regional leader in shipping and marine services with global operations through its 11 specialized subsidiaries.

The vessel, which cost Gulf Navigation AED 403 million, was handed over to TMT of Taiwan soon after delivery, on a three-year time charter at the rate of US$ 52,000 per day. The deal is expected to generate total revenues of about US$ 56,900,000 for the company. In other words, more than half the cost of the vessel will be recovered from this contract alone.

Commenting on the purchase of the ship, Engineer Abdullah Al Shuraim, Chairman, Gulf Navigation Holding PJSC, said that the vessel would substantially add to the revenue of the company as well as its prestige.

"Apart from the revenue that accrues from the vessel, its value also keeps appreciating. It is presently valued at between US$ 145 - 150 million," he added.

The vessel, built at and delivered by NACKS Shipyard in China, was fully financed by DnB NOR, one of the world's pre-eminent ship finance and banking institutions. The total amount of financing was for AED 312 million, equivalent to 77 per cent of purchase price.

"We are happy to have financed the purchase of Gulf Sheba, which will contribute substantially to the region's crude oil transport facilities. This mammoth supertanker is sure to generate impressive revenue for Gulf Navigation Holding," said the General Manager of DnB NOR.

The term supertanker usually refers to the world's largest ships, those above 200,000 in deadweight tonnes (dwt) displacement and capable of transporting two to three million barrels of oil. By way of comparison, the oil consumption of Spain and the UK combined is about 3.2 million barrels of oil a day.

Gulf Navigation Holding has managed to demonstrate strong growth levels since its inception, backed by excellent fundamentals. A year ago, Gulf Navigation Holding's AED 910 million IPO drew enthusiastic investor response. It closed in August 2006 and resulted in 3.5 times oversubscription collecting AED 3.1 billion.

Gulf Navigation Holding, the region's rapidly growing oil and chemical carrier, operates through a fully-integrated organizational structure. It provides the full spectrum of services for maritime liquid cargo transportation, maritime commercial agencies, vessels technical management and vessels in-port agency services.