Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 15
By Azad Hasanli – Trend:
Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR bought seven tankers from Turkey-based Palmali Shipping Company to expand the transport capacity of the Azerbaijani company’s fleet in the Mediterranean and Caspian seas, Arzu Azimov, the Geneva-based head of SOCAR Trading, told Reuters.
The deal, which was closed last month, gives SOCAR access to two Suezmax-class tankers with deadweight of 140,000 tons each and five Aframax-class tankers with 80,000 tons capacity each, Azimov noted.
The new tankers are significantly bigger than oil tankers currently in SOCAR’s fleet of around 30 ships, which have a deadweight of between 5,000 to 15,000 tons, Azimov said.
SOCAR Trading was established in Geneva in December 2007. Its activities cover the US and countries in Europe and Asia.