Samudera Indonesia enters LNG transport business

IDX-listed shipping firm PT Samudera Indonesia Tbk plans to acquire at least five new vessels this year including container ship, oil tankers, and two LNG tankers as the company expands into the LNG transport business, Kontan reported on Saturday.

The paper quoted Samudera Managing Director Bani Mulia as saying that the company has allocated US$120 million in capital expenditure this year to finance the vessel acquisition project.

He said that the new LNG tankers will be used to serve PT Indonesia Power?s, a subsidiary of state-owned electricity firm PT PLN, current drive to convert the fuel of its power plants in Bali from diesel fuel to gas.

?We?ll participate in transporting LNG from Bontang to Bali,? he said, adding that the new LNG transport business is expected to expand beyond Bali going forward.

Bani said that the vessel acquisition program is expected to be completed by the end of this year. He, however, declined to disclose the value of the contract with Indonesia Power. (*)