A Navios Maritime Acquisition VLCC newbuilding is headed into a charter deal with Al-Iraqia Shipping Services & Oil Trading (AISSOT), joining its Japanese-built sisterships with the Middle East operator.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has delivered the vessel, the fourth and final ship ordered by the Greek shipowner in Japan.
The ships were originally contracted at Imabari Shipbuilding, but the last in the series was subcontracted out to MHI's Koyagi shipyard in Nagasaki.
The 310,000-dwt Basra (built 2021) was delivered earlier this month and is currently on its maiden voyage to Fujairah.
It appears to have been handed over ahead of schedule. Navios Acquisition earlier indicated the final ship would be delivered in 2022.
New York-listed Navios Acquisition has also opted to take the newbuildings on a long-term bareboat charter basis from Imabari's shipping subsidiary Shoei Kisen, rather than own the vessels directly.
The company holds a purchase option on completion of the bareboat charters, which will still allow it to potentially cash in on the tanker assets in the sale-and-purchase market, even though at present it does not directly own the tonnage.
All four VLCCs are fully managed in-house by Navios Tankers Management.
The Basra will join the first two sisterships — the Baghdad (built 2020) and Erbil (built 2021) — under the commercial operation of AISSOT, an Iraq and United Arab Emirates-based shipping and trading company.
Navios Acquisition has not disclosed the operator of the three VLCCs, but all three ships are fully decorated in AISSOT's branding, and last year AISSOT announced it had taken delivery of the Baghdad.
Navios Acquisition earlier disclosed that the Baghdad and Erbil are both being hired at a net bareboat rate of $27,816 per day for 10 years with an option to extend for a further five years at $29,751 per day.
Profit sharing
The other vessel in the series of four is the 310,000-dwt Nave Electron (built 2021), which was delivered earlier this year, and is being operated under a profit-sharing scheme at a net daily charter rate of $47,906 per day with an unnamed counterparty.
Navios group has been contacted for comment.
The developing commercial relationship between Navios Acquisition and AISSOT comes in contrast to the acrimonious end to the Iraqi company's relationships with another high-profile Greek shipowner, Evangelos Marinakis' Capital Ship Management.
Capital terminated a bareboat contract for six VLCC and suezmax tankers with AISSOT in 2019, leading to litigation that was settled at arbitration earlier this year.
The delivery of the Basra from MHI is also being viewed as significant because it could be the last tanker delivered from one of Japan's most historic shipyards.
The Koyagi plant, completed in 1972, became the main shipbuilding facility at MHI's Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery works, which has been building ships since 1857.
However, the Koyagi facility has now been sold to bulk carrier specialist Oshima Shipbuilding, which has yet to reveal its plans for the yard.
The facility is expected to be handed over to Oshima next year.
