Qatar Shipping Company (Qship), which is merging with Qatar Navigation, will buy ships in 2010 to take advantage of falling prices, its chief executive said on Monday.

'We are now poised for acquisitions. We hope to acquire ships in 2010,' KK Kothari told Reuters, declining to specify how many or how much it would spend.

The firm would look at crude and product tankers and maybe dry bulk carriers, he said. 'We have not ordered a single ship in the last four years.'  Any such acquisitions would be financed through internal resources and bank loans, he said.

Ship prices have fallen by 50 per cent in some sectors as a result of the global financial crisis, and in other sectors by more, Kothari said, adding he expected further price weakness.

Qatar Shipping, which has seven ships operating in sectors including crude oil, petrochemicals and liquefied petroleum gas, sold half its fleet before the economic crisis as the company anticipated a sharp downturn in the maritime sector.

'The last vessel was sold in January 2008. Today we can buy them at half the price,' Kothari said.

International shipping has been hit hard by the financial downturn, largely due to overcapacity caused by a construction boom that took place before the slump began.

Tanker markets have suffered less than container shippers despite a fall in global oil consumption.

Kothari said Qatar Shipping would also be interested in buying other firms, but declined to give further details. 'I see a lot of companies and ships coming on sale. (Some) ship-owning firms are not fulfilling their loan covenants,' he said.

Kothari said the merger with Qatar Navigation was on track and at due diligence stage but declined to give further details.

Qatar's government ordered Qatar Shipping and Qatar Navigation to merge in November 2008 to protect the firms during the financial crisis.

Consolidation in the oil-exporting Gulf Arab region has been on the rise as the financial crisis and an oil price slump ended an economic boom, forcing firms in sectors ranging from property to investment to search for ways to weather the downturn.

Qatar Shipping made a nine-month profit of 518.67 million riyals ($142.5 million), up from 459 million riyals in the same period last year. 'We're in very good shape financially,' Kothari said when asked about the outlook for 2010.

Qship shares closed at 33.3 riyals on Monday, up 65.5 percent from a year low logged on February 2.

The firm sold its subsidiary Qatar Engineering and Construction Co (QCon) to Qatar America Consortium (QAAC) in September for $110 million, having bought the company five years earlier for $11 million.-Reuters