Odfjell, Sinochem Form Chemical Tanker Pool

Odfjell SE said it has signed Framework Agreement with Sinochem Shipping Singapore Pte. Ltd whereby the Norwegian ship owner will take four vessels on long-term bareboat charter and together form a pool of eight 40,900 dwt chemical tankers.

The four chemical tankers are part of Sinochem’s series of eight ordered from Hantong Wing Shipyard in China. Sinochem will retain ownership of the series’ four other vessels, which together with the bareboat vessels will form a pool managed by Odfjell SE and trading as part of the Odfjell Tankers fleet.

The bareboat charters include purchase options at the end of the charter period.

Seven of the vessels were delivered in 2016 and 2017, with the eighth newbuilding expected for delivery in December 2017. The eight vessels will join Odfjell's fleet over the coming months and will replace existing tonnage currently on charter to Odfjell from other owners.

Kristian Mørch, CEO of Odfjell SE, said, “With this structure, we will replace a large part of our maturing chartered-in fleet with more modern and sophisticated tonnage, and in a highly capital efficient way. We are also very pleased with the new relationship with Sinochem and with the trust they place upon us as managers of the pool.”

Zhang Xin, CEO of Sinochem Shipping, said, “We are excited to embark on this new journey with Odfjell SE whom are both a recognized industry pioneer and market leader. The high-quality, sophisticated and flexible nature of our chemical tankers which are, proudly ‘Built-in-China’, will be a natural fit in and an immediate enhancement to their first class global operating platform.”

The transaction is subject to satisfactory completion of competition law assessment and customary closing conditions.