17 June 2011 (Bangkok, Thailand / Oshima, Japan) -- Thoresen Thai Agencies PCL ("TTA") today took delivery of the M.V. Thor Fortune, a brand new Supramax class dry bulk vessel. The ship, which was built by Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., was received by TTA President & CEO, M.L. Chandchutha Chandratat in Oshima, Japan, on behalf of Thor Fortune Shipping Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of TTA. The vessel is the latest addition to TTA's increasingly young and efficient dry bulk shipping fleet.
"Taking delivery of the M.V. Thor Fortune reaffirms the Company's long-term strategy to own and operate a modern and competitive dry bulk shipping fleet," said M.L. Chandchutha. "We are actively working to lower the average age of our vessels while increasing efficiency in order to capture as much value as possible in a competitive marketplace."
Ordered in December 2006 for ¥4.085 billion, the M.V. Thor Fortune comes with a 53,350 deadweight ton ("DWT") capacity, equalling the size of the Thor Friendship, delivered by Oshima in December, 2009. TTA's largest vessel is the Thor Achiever, which has a cargo carrying capacity of 57,015 deadweight tonnes. The state-of-the-art M.V. Thor Fortune is fully equipped with four cargo cranes, each of which has a safe working load of 36 metric tons.
"As part of further efforts to modernise, we recently entered into agreements to sell seven older Handysize vessels because we no longer felt they were going to be competitive in today's operating environment," continued M.L. Chandchutha. Those sales, coupled with today's announcement, mean that TTA's fleet will consist of 15 modern and cost-effective vessels.
The average age of TTA's fleet today has dropped to 10.52years compared to [19.05] years in 2009 while the average size of each vessel has risen from 27,185 DWT in 2009 to 43,719 DWT today.
"We've improved our fleet significantly and will continue to focus on these efforts going forward," added M.L. Chandchutha. "Dry bulk shipping remains a cornerstone of our transportation segment and we're confident that this revitalisation effort will strengthen our business and help us maintain a leadership position in this market", M.L. Chandchutha concluded.
About TTA
Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited ("TTA") is a strategic investment holding company listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Its investment strategy is to grow through a balanced and diversified business portfolio of transport, energy, and infrastructure assets, both domestically and internationally. Previously, TTA has primarily invested in the dry bulk shipping and related shipping services businesses. The company has since expanded its investments into other business areas, such as offshore services through Mermaid Maritime Public Company Limited, fertilisers and logistics through Baconco Co., Ltd., coal-related businesses through Merton Group (Cyprus) Limited and Unique Mining Services Public Company Limited, petroleum tankers through Petrolift, Inc, and ports through Baria Joint Stock Company of Service for Import Export of Agro Forestry Products and Fertilizers.
For media inquiry, please contact:
Ravisada Angkeeros, Corporate Communications Department, Thoresen Thai Agencies Plc.
Tel: +66 2254 8437 ext. 393 Email: ravisada_a@thoresen.com