Pertamina builds four new tankers<\/p>\n
Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Cashing in on profits from the sale of its two super tankers last
\nyear, state oil and gas firm Pertamina is constructing four new
\nsmaller tankers worth about US$50 million to distribute fuel
\nproducts throughout the archipelago.<\/p>\n
Two of the tankers, MT Plaju with a capacity of 6,500 Long Ton
\nDead Weight (LTDW) and MT Fastron with 30,000 LTDW, are expected
\nto be completed in May, Pertamina says on its website.<\/p>\n
The two vessels are being constructed in PT Dok & Perkapalan
\nSurabaya and PT Pal Surabaya's shipyards in East Java.<\/p>\n
Dead weight tonnage refers to the weight that a ship can
\nsafely carry when fully loaded. A long ton is 1,016 kilograms.<\/p>\n
Batam-based PT Nanindah Mutiara Shipyard are building the
\nother two lighter vessels; the MT Balongan, with a capacity of
\n6,500 LTDW, and the MT Mundu of 3,500 LTDW.<\/p>\n
It was unclear when these tankers would be completed.<\/p>\n
\"The total investment of the four tankers amounted to about
\n$50 million,\" media relations officer Mochamad Harud said on
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
Some of the funds for the construction were derived from the
\ncontroversial sale of the company's super tankers last year,
\nwhich the Business Competition Supervisory Commission said was
\n\"riddled with irregularities\".<\/p>\n
Pertamina bought the two tankers, with a capacity of 260,000
\nDead Weight Ton each, for $65.4 million each and sold them to the
\nBermuda-based Frontline Shipping Ltd. for a total of $184
\nmillion.<\/p>\n
At present, the state oil firm operates about 130 tankers of
\ndifferent sizes to ensure that the fuel demands of the thousands
\nof islands in the country are fulfilled.<\/p>\n
Pertamina owns only 30 vessels in its entire fleet and has had
\nto charter the rest.<\/p>\n
Although the new tankers were relatively small, Harun said
\nthey would help the company maintain fuel supplies in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
In 2003, Pertamina's ships transported some 81 million
\nkiloliters of fuel products to numerous ports in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Higher global demand for tankers fueled by economic growth in
\nChina and Vietnam meant ship charter costs skyrocketed by up to
\n100 percent last year to an average of about $7,000 per ship a
\nday.<\/p>",
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