Inovisi in talks to buy oil tankers from Thai firm

IDX-listed mobile application service providers PT Inovisi Infracom Tbk, through its shipping arm Petrol One Group, plans to buy one or two oil tankers from a Thai shipping company to further boost the company?s shipping business.

Inovisi?s corporate secretary, Benita Sofia, said in Jakarta on Friday that the purchase of the tankers was currently being negotiated with the Thai company.

Benita said that the purchase was part of the company?s program to increase fleet capacity to 2 million metric tons between 2012 and 2013 from about 500,000 tons at present. ?We need to buy six more tankers in order to be able to meet the target,? Benita added.

At present, the company operates two oil tankers, each with a length of 320 meters and a capacity of 250,000 tons.

Meanwhile Inovisi president director Jerry Djajasaputra said that the company had to buy from Thailand, Singapore or Malaysia, because such kind of tankers could not be found in Indonesia.

He said that the company would prefer to buy a tanker which has already secured a long-term contract with an oil company so that it could be used as bank collateral.

Inovisi plans to invest up to $280 million in oil and gas sector between 2011 and 2015. (giok)