August 28, 2008

West Asia Maritime signs INR 440 crore deal with Mitsubishi

BL reported that Chennai based West Asia Maritime Limited has signed a USD 110 million contract with Mitsubishi Corporation for chartering two Handymax bulk carriers under bare boat charter.

Mr Abdul Qadir A Rahman Buhari MD of West Asia Maritime Limited said that the two new ships are to be delivered by Mitsubishi during the third quarter of 2012 and first quarter of 2013.

He added that under the bare boat charter, it will pay Mitsubishi an upfront fee of 10% of the total cost and the balance when the ships are delivered. Mitsubishi will also arrange finance, identify the ship building yard, and provide ships on charter to WAM, which can just focus on identifying clients for the cargo.

Under the bare boat charter, the entity chartering a vessel has complete possession and control of the ship, including the right to appoint its crew. Two years ago, West Asia Maritime signed a similar deal for USD 33 million with another Mitsui & Co for a bulk carrier.

Promoted by the Dubai based Emirate Trading Agency, West Asia Maritime and its Singapore based subsidiaries own 5 Handymax vessels, 7 Panamax dry bulk carriers and 4 chemical tankers. For the fiscal ended March 2008, WAM and its subsidiaries transported 12.77 million tonnes cargo. The current market value of its owned and bare boat chartered vessels and the new contract was USD 677 million.