State-run Shipping Corporation of India Ltd (SCI) has floated a tender seeking price bids for two second-hand Suezmax oil tankers, as the national carrier accelerates fleet renewal after years of delay caused by a failed privatisation attempt.
The proposed tankers should be between 7 and 10 years old with a cargo capacity of 140,000–160,000 deadweight tons (dwt). Only ships built at reputed yards with equipment from original equipment manufacturers or Korean, Japanese, and European licensees will qualify for evaluation, SCI stated in the tender documents.
SCI, India’s largest fleet owner, currently operates four Suezmax tankers, of which two are 21 years old, one is 18 years old, and another is 13 years old. The older vessels are less favoured by oil loading terminals and charterers, limiting their commercial deployment, industry sources noted.
Suezmax tankers are crucial for India’s crude imports discharged at Mumbai and Chennai ports, which lack Single Buoy Moorings (SBMs) to accommodate very large crude carriers (VLCCs).
This move follows SCI’s August acquisition of two second-hand Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs) for about $127 million, its first ship purchase in eight years. Each VLGC can carry around 82,000 cubic metres of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The last fleet expansion before this was in FY2017, when SCI added four second-hand vessels, including a Suezmax tanker.
