OSG commits to bareboat charter of 10 product tankers
Overseas Shipholding Group Inc., owner and operator of a 99-vessel tanker fleet, has signed 'definitive agreements' for the bareboat charters of 10 Veteran MT-46-class Jones Act product tankers, to be built by Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard Inc. (KPSI).
After construction, KPSI will transfer the vessels to leasing subsidiaries of American Shipping Corp., an affiliate of KPSI, which will in turn bareboat charter the ships to subsidiaries of OSG for initial terms of five or seven years, with extension options through the life of the vessels.
Morten Arntzen, president and chief executive officer of New-York-based OSG, called the bareboat charters 'a significant milestone in the company's participation in the U.S.-flag business.'