Jakarta-based Waruna Nusa Sentana has turned its attention to smaller tonnage with the acquisition of ships from Lauritzen Kosan Gas Carriers and Ningbo Donghai Shipping.
The fast-growing tanker owner has paid in the region of $3.1m for the 3,512-cbm fully pressurized LPG carrier Brit Kosan (built 1999) and $7.4m for 17,800-dwt product tanker Donghai (built 2009), brokers reported this week.
Like almost all Waruna’s fleet of around 50 tankers and gas carriers, they will generate the bulk of their income through charters to Indonesian oil major Pertamina, sources close to the company say.
Waruna’s reliance on Pertamina as its main customer means that the company is a prolific player on the sales and purchase front, constantly adjusting its fleet composition and strength according to the business the oil major has on offer.
Last year the company was especially active in the larger size sectors, acquiring no less than seven vessels, including three MR1 product tankers and two aframax tankers.
At the same time the company sold seven of its oldest tankers, a mix of MR1 and MR2-type product tankers, and small clean tankers, for scrap.
While TradeWinds was unable to contact the company for comment on its fleet plans for 2020, brokers who work the Indonesian sales and purchase sector expect that the company will continue to be an active buyer and seller of tanker tonnage throughout the year.
“Pertamina is always issuing new tenders for ships, and is stressing the need for modern tonnage. Waruna has some older tankers dating from the early 1990s that it may also want to scrap,” said a Singapore-based broking source.
Founded in 1990, privately-owned Waruna has become one of Indonesia’s largest shipowners. While tankers and LPG carriers form the overwhelming majority of its fleet, it also maintains a small fleet of cement carriers along with a couple of bulk carriers and some offshore vessels that work exclusively in the Indonesian domestic market.
