Oman Shipping Company (OSC) has performed the naming ceremony for two new product and chemical tankers – the Muscat Silver and Rustaq Silver.

The ceremony took place at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea.

OSC will now take delivery of the Muscat Silver as part of a deal which will see 10 MR tankers delivered to it over the next year, said a statement from the company.

All the vessels will be chartered to Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Ltd for its Project Silver, which consists of 50 new-builds. They will each operate worldwide with 20-strong crews - including a number of Omani officers, it said.

The Muscat Silver and Rustaq Silver are both 183 metres in length and 32.2 metres wide, with a depth of 19.1 metres, it added.

Each medium range tanker’s capacity was 37,900 metric tonnes at the design draft and 49,800 metric tonnes at the scantling draft. They both have a gross tonnage of 29,354 tonnes and net tonnage of 12,195, said the statement.

Wasam Al Najjar, general manager, OSC, said: “We will strengthen and consolidate our position in the hydrocarbon shipping sector with the new vessels.”

“The delivery of the Muscat Silver boosts OSC’s fleet to 44 ships,” he said.

“This is just the beginning of our expansion, and now with the next nine ships due to be delivered within 12 months, which is testament to OSC’s capacity and ambition. Our investment in new ships demonstrates we can offer the very best, and very latest, shipping solutions to major operators like Shell. Entering into new joint venture agreements to expand our fleet is the key to OSC’s ongoing business development,” he added.

Al Najjar added: “OSC will also be offering ship management services for both vessels via its subsidiary Oman Ship Management Company (OSMC). OSMC is a crucial part of OSC and is 100 per cent committed to maintaining the highest international standards of safety.”

“The continued growth and success of OSC will play a key role in the government’s wider plan to diversify the Omani economy. Under the government’s wise vision maritime, ports and shipping are fundamental to the future prosperity of Oman driving job and wealth creation,” he concluded. – TradeArabia News Service