Oman Shipping Co (OSC) is moving swiftly to build up its presence in the ultramax bulker sector with brokers reporting this week that it has bought two more secondhand ships.
The company is said to have paid $18m each for Nisshin Shipping’s 63,500-dwt Hanton Trader I and 63,800-dwt Hanton Trader III (both built 2014).
TradeWinds was unable to contact OSC to confirm the reports due to Eid holidays this week. Acting chief executive Michael Jorgensen has been open about plans to invest in bulkers of this size to handle gypsum and limestone from the company’s homeland.
It previously set up a chartering desk at its headquarters in Muscat to secure tonnage and last month acquired a pair of 64,000-dwt newbuildings under construction at Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard in China for delivery this year.
This has been a busy year of vessel acquisitions for OSC, beginning with three VLCCs ordered at DSME.
Jorgensen told TradeWinds at the beginning of 2019 that the company was looking to follow its tanker fleet expansion with growth in the dry cargo and containership sectors.
Its plan calls for a renewal of the tanker fleet and a strong focus on boxships and bulkers to support the Sultan of Oman's Logistics Strategy 2040, a government initiative to diversify the country’s economy beyond oil and gas.
