NYK Group company Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers AS , of which NYK has a 50 percent share, has concluded a time-charter contract for two shuttle tankers with Equinor ASA for a maximum 20-year period starting in the second quarter of 2020, the company said in its press release.
The contract aims to use two 152,000 DWT Suezmax tankers equipped with dynamic-positioning systems built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. to shuttle crude oil produced in waters off Brazil. Upon commencement of this contract, the KNOT Group will have 31 shuttle tankers in operation or on order.
In accordance with its new medium-term management plan “Staying Ahead 2022 with Digitalization and Green,” the NYK Group will continue its efforts to provide stable and economical energy-transport services in the shuttle tanker and offshore businesses.
Also called a “floating pipeline,” a shuttle tanker loads crude oil from floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) units in deepwater fields while maintaining a certain distance in the ocean, and then transports the oil to crude-oil storage units or petroleum storage stations on land.