Singapore, 13 March 2014 -- Thoresen Shipping Singapore Pte. Ltd. ("Thoresen Shipping"), a leading owner and operator of dry bulk vessels and a wholly owned subsidiary of Thoresen Thai Agency Agencies Public Company Limited ("TTA"), today announced that it has added three more Supramax dry bulk ships to its fleet, taking the company's capacity to more than 1.1 million deadweight tonnes ("DWT").
The three new young and efficient vessels grow Thoresen Shipping's fleet to a total of 23 ships, with an average age of approximately 10.58 years old and an average capacity of 50,402 deadweight tonnes.
The larger fleet provides more trading options for the company's chartering team and reduces potential ballast time.
Mr. Chalermchai Mahagitsiri, TTA's President & CEO, said, "We are very pleased to be able to demonstrate tangible investments that have been made possible as a result of the support shown to the company through our recent, successful rights offer.
"Growth in demand in the dry bulk trade has begun to outpace supply, and as a result freight rates have started edging upwards.
"By injecting this capital into Thoresen Shipping, we are enabling the company to further expand its owned fleet, take advantage of this market recovery, and ultimately increase returns to shareholders. We will continue to look for more opportunities to continue driving growth through expansion."
Since the beginning of 2014, Thoresen Shipping has acquired five second hand vessels including the acquisition of M.V. Top Freedom, M.V. Top Harmony and M.V. Top Island, forms part of Thoresen Shipping's fleet renewal plan, and follows the recent successful acquisition of M.V. Thor Magnhild in February and M.V. Thor Mercury in January.
All built by Oshima Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Shipyard in Japan, M.V. Top Freedom, a 55,695 DWT vessel, was built in August 2005; M.V. Top Harmony, a 55,695 DWT vessel, was built in October 2005; and M.V. Top Island, the 55,710 DWT vessel was built in September 2006. All vessels have successfully passed rigorous physical inspection and have exemplary class records.
Thoresen Shipping will take delivery of the three new vessels between May and June 2014, at which point they will be ready for immediate operation.
Mr. Ian Claxton, Managing Director, Thoresen Shipping said, "This is an exciting time for us. We are growing capacity, and doing so with a younger, more efficient fleet. These three newly added vessels further strengthen our ability to enhance service for our growing customer base across our ever widening global network in the dry bulk sector.
"Our approach to fleet enhancement is driven by a focus on acquiring young second hand vessels that are immediately operational and revenue generating, while still benefitting from the efficiencies associated with new-builds."
Further to the expanded capacity, the new vessels have the added advantage of being equipped with equipment similar to that employed elsewhere in the Thoresen Shipping fleet, enabling the company to achieve further cost efficiencies through economies of scale.
Mr. Ian Claxton continued, "Smart and agile expansion of the fleet is one part of our strategy, and the expansion of our geographical footprint forms another important component, where we are focused on establishing new overseas offices to provide the best possible service to our growing customer base, especially those located on the high-yielding Atlantic ocean routes."
The fleet expansion forms part of Thorensen Shipping's current growth strategy, and follows the recent announcement of the company's widening of its geographical footprint through the opening of an office in South Africa.