KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28): MISC Bhd’s wholly-owned unit AET Inc Ltd has commissioned the construction of eight new vessels for approximately US$500 million.

In a statement today, MISC said AET signed shipbuilding contracts yesterday (OCt 27) with Samsung Heavy Industries Co Ltd for the construction of four new 113,000 dead weight tonnes (DWT) Aframax vessels, which are slated to be delivered to AET in 2018.

Today, it inked similar contracts with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd for the construction of two new 114,000 DWT long range 2 (LR2) product vessels, and 2 new 158,000 DWT Suezmax vessels. These four are to be delivered to AET in 2017.

The combined value of the shipbuilding contracts are approximately US$500 million, said MISC.

“The two LR2 product vessels are tied to long term time charters, which AET has been awarded with a strategic oil major client,” said MISC.

The six other new builds will replace older tonnage in the AET fleet and re-balance the fleet profile, ensuring that AET continues to deliver optimum solutions for its customers, it added.

The vessel purchases will be funded by AET’s internally-generated funds and external borrowings.

The new vessels will be fitted with the latest eco-innovations to maximise fuel efficiency and their impact on the environment, enabling them to be awarded with the ‘green passport’ notation.

“AET is a core part of MISC’s future business strategy and these two contracts demonstrates MISC’s commitment to ensuring our petroleum subsidiary remains at the forefront of its sector.

“We will continue to invest in AET to ensure that it is underpinned with the assets [that] it requires to deliver the highest quality ocean transportation available in today’s market,” said MISC's president and group chief executive officer, Yee Yang Chien.

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