Pertamina to open tender for purchases of six tankers

State oil and gas company PT Pertamina will open a tender for the procurement of six tankers with a capacity of 17,500 dead weight tonnage (DWT) to local shipbuilding companies in the second semester of this year, Bisnis Indonesia reported.

Suhartoko, the deputy director for shipping at Pertamina, said in Jakarta on Tuesday that the procurement of the six tankers worth about US$180 million had received an approval from the board of directors.

He hoped that all the tankers could be procured from local shipbuilding companies. The procurement of the new tankers is part of Pertamina?s program to increase the number of its own ships in its shipping fleet.

As of December, 2011, Pertamina operates 171 ships and tankers of different sizes. 46 of the ships are owned by the company, while the other 125 ships are rented from shipping companies. Pertamina hopes that the portion of its own ships will increase to 50 percent in the next few years from 30 percent at present. (*)