Petredec adds another VLGC at HHI

Singapore-headquartered Petredec has added to its VLGC orderbook exercising an option at Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).
In April Petredec ordered two 84,000 cu m VLGCs with options for two more at the South Korean yard, with deliveries expected in 2015 and 2016. On Friday Petrdec said it had exercised one of the options with delivery of the newbuilding in 2016. The vessels will be built to HHI’s “ultra-modern eco-design”.
Petredec has taken on more options and now has options for three additional sisterships at HHI. Excluding the options Petredec currently owns, has on charter and on order a total of 18 VLGCs.
"There are other ships on order presently, but as the largest mover of seaborne LPG globally, loading 15-20 VLGCs per month, we cannot allow ourselves to be overly dependent on tonnage providers. With our volumes continuing to increase year on year it is important for Petredec to operate the right blend of owned and chartered tonnage, not only to ride out market volatility but also to ensure we provide the best service to our customers,” said Giles Fearn, chief executive of Petredec.
Fearn added: “We at Petredec are very confident of the growth of our business platform going forward”.
Source: Seatrade Global