Odfjell and NCC set to break off chemical tanker pool
Odfjell Tankers (Odfjell) and National Chemical Carriers (NCC) have agreed to dissolve as from June 1, 2013 their pool of 40,000 to 45,000 dwt coated chemical tankers, Odfjell press release said.
NCC owns 13 vessels and Odfjell owns and / or controls five ships currently in the pool.
The pool, managed by the joint venture company NCC Odfjell Chemical Tankers (NOCT) in Dubai, was established in 2009 following almost 20 years of cooperation in trading and operations of stainless steel chemical tankers.
The discontinuation comes as a result of different strategies related to trading of the NOCT vessels. NCC has a desire to trade their ships more independently and with a primary focus on the Middle East whilst Odfjell, on the other hand, prefers to continue the current pattern of trading the pool vessels world-wide.
With new ships under construction combined with tonnage already chartered in, Odfjell is sufficiently positioned to maintain their position as a major operator in the coated chemical tanker segment.
The cooperation will continue for the two 75,000 dwt coated chemical tankers currently under construction in Korea. The vessels will be commercially managed by a subsidiary of NCC.
Odfjell Tankers will, also effective 1 June 2013, re-open their marketing and representation office in Dubai with Mr Erik Nilsen, the current head of NOCT, as Managing Director. The discontinuation of the pool will only have a very limited direct effect on the Odfjell group’s financial figures.
Odfjell is a leading company in the global market for transportation and storage of bulk liquid chemicals, acids, edible oils and other special products. Originally set up in 1914, the Company pioneered the development of the chemical tanker trades in the middle/late 1950s and the tank storage business in the late 1960s. Odfjell owns and operates chemical tankers in global and regional trades as well as a network of tank terminals.