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The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) secured a SAR 2.8 bn (USD 756 mn) Murabaha financing agreement with Alinma Bank, Bahri said in a press release and disclosure to Tadawul. The 10-year facility is backed by mortgaging very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and will cover about 70% of the acquisition costs for nine new VLCCs. Bahri is partly owned by PIF and oil giant Aramco.
This has been cooking for a while: Bahri inked a SAR 3.75 bn (c. USD 1 bn) agreement in August to acquire nine VLCCs from global shipping outfit Capital Maritime and Trading Corporation, with the vessels scheduled for delivery in batches before the close of 1Q 2025. Bahri paid 10% of the total upfront, with the remaining 90% due upon delivery, adding that the purchase would be financed by a combination of banking facilities and internally generated funds.
More on Bahri’s fleet modernization plans: The nine newly acquired VLCCs will enable the energy carrier to phase out older vessels, the statement said. CEO Ahmed Ali Al Subaey also outlined plans last month for the company to build 20-30 new LNG tankers capable of hauling LNG, hydrogen, and ammonia through JVs with unnamed partners. Al Subaey had referenced general plans to upgrade the company’s fleet in statements accompanying Bahri’s 2Q 2024 earnings.
