Pertamina, local ship makers to sign contracts next week

State oil and gas firm Pertamina will next week sign contracts with local shipyard companies to build several oil tankers for it, company president director Baihaki Hakim said Wednesday.

Baihaki said the oil carriers would have capacity of between 3,000 dead weight tons (DWT) and 6,500 DWT.

Pertamina?s vice president for shipping, Ibrahim Hasyim, said earlier that Pertamina had appointed some local ship makers to build 12 new oil carriers for the oil company.

Ibrahim said the shipyard firms included PT Dok & Perkapalan Kodja Bahari, PT PAL Indonesia, PT Nanindah Mutiara Shipyard, PT Jasa Marina Indah and PT Dok & Perkapalan Surabaya. They would build the six oil tankers.

Ibrahim said that the construction by local ship makers of a 3,500-DWT oil tanker would cost US$8.5 million, and that $10.5 million would be required for building a 6,500-DWT tanker. The amounts were higher than those required by overseas shipyard companies, he said.

Pertamina expected that the six carriers would be delivered to it by December of 2004. (godang)