Indonesian tanker operator Soechi Lines has ventured into the sale-and-purchase market for a second time this year with the purchase of a small chemical and product tanker from China’s ICBC Leasing.
The company has reportedly paid $9.2m for the 16,900-dwt Ping An (built 2010), a vessel that was recently operating in the fleet of Shandong Shipping.
Soechi sources told TradeWinds that it has taken prompt delivery of the ship, which is now at the Indonesian island of Batam and has been renamed Bintang Samudra T.
The ship joins Soechi’s fleet of 45 tankers of various types and sizes. Like many Indonesian tanker owners, Soechi derives most of its business from the shipping requirements of Indonesian oil major Pertamina.
Therefore, tonnage is usually acquired on the back of long-term charters for larger ships or perceived petrochemicals distribution needs for the smaller ships, which are used to move products and chemicals of various types throughout Indonesia’s vast archipelago.
Soechi has been quiet on the acquisition front since buying four MR product tankers and two aframaxes during 2015 and 2016.
But the company does appear to be scaling up again, buying the 78,000-cbm LPG carrier Yuhsho (built 1999) from JX Ocean in April for $23.5m.
Although brokers at the time suggested that the ship had been sold to South Korean interests, it subsequently joined Soechi affiliate Sukses Inkor Maritim as the SC Commander LVII.
