Saudi Arabia's National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) has announced that it has finalised a purchase deal with Greek shipping company Capital Maritime and Trading Corporation to acquire nine Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) for SAR3.75 billion ($1 billion).

The Bahri move comes as part of the company’s ambitious fleet modernization plan, said the company in its filing to Saudi bourse Tadawul.

The ships, which were built in South Korea, and are on average 5.9 years old and are to be delivered in batches before end of Q1 2025, with 10% payment to be made on signing of the purchase agreement and the remaining 90% to be paid on delivery, it stated in the bourse filing.

According to Bahri, the transaction will significantly advance its fleet modernisation plans, thus reinforcing its position among leading VLCC owners globally.

It will help modernize Bahri’s fleet, particularly its Oil Transport business unit which currently operates a fleet of 40 VLCCs, and enable it to streamline the process of phasing out older vessels in its fleet going forward.

The main purpose of this acquisition is to enable Bahri streamlining the process of phasing out older vessels in the fleet going forward, it stated.

These VLCCs will be utilised by Bahri oil transport business unit to deliver crude oil cargoes for its customers, it added.

According to Bahri, this deal is poised to improve Bahri’s overall fleet competitiveness that will lead to enhancing the company’s revenues and profitability, as Bahri will benefit from the higher earnings from these modern eco-scrubber ships, as well as the reduced operating expenses driven by these cost-efficient VLCCs.

The Saudi shipper said the transaction will be financed by a mixture of banking facilities and internally generated funds.

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