The National Iranian Tanker Company will soon sign a contract with Iran Shipbuilding and Offshore Industries Complex Company in southern Hormozgan Province, based on which the latter will build the first hybrid Aframax oil tanker for the former.
According to Hossein Shiva, NITC’s managing director, the construction of Aframax oil tankers based on international standards is indicative of Iran's technological prowess in manufacturing state-of-the-art oil tankers, ILNA reported.
“The tanker will have the capacity to carry 113,000 tons of crude and it will be Iran’s first hybrid LNG-mazut oil carrier,” he added.
The massive tanker will run on low-sulphur fuels that is compliant with the International Maritime Organization’s new rules (sulphur content no more than 0.5%) took effect in 2020.
Under the new global cap, as of January 2020 ships had to use marine fuels with a sulphur content of no more than 0.5% against the current limit of 3.5% in an effort to reduce the amount of sulphur oxide, particularly for populations living close to ports and coasts.
Iran's shipping fleet annually needs at least 2 million tons of mazut.
The Aframax oil tanker will comply with the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) that is the most important technical indicator marking the use of more energy efficient and less polluting equipment and engines
Due to their favorable size (250 meters in length, 44 meters in breadth and a height of 21 meters) and 21,000-horsepower engine, Aframax tankers can call on most ports across the globe. The vessels serve regions that do not have very large ports or offshore oil terminals to accommodate very large crude carriers and ultra-large crude carriers.
Non–OPEC exporting countries also require the tankers because the harbors and canals through which these countries export their oil are too small to accommodate very large and ultra-large crude carriers (VLCCs and ULCCs).
The Aframax oil tanker will comply with the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) that is the most important technical indicator marking the use of more energy efficient and less polluting equipment and engines.
EEDI requires a minimum energy efficiency level per capacity mile for different ship type and size segments. Since 1 January 2013, following an initial two-year phase, new ship designs need to meet the reference level for their ship type.
NITC, which has been trying to scrap two of its older VLCCs in the past few weeks, is one of the largest tanker owners in the world with 70 tankers moving a combined 15.5 million deadweight tonnage.
ISOICO is the biggest shipbuilding company in the Middle East with 30 years of experience in ship manufacturing and maintenance, besides construction of oil and gas platforms.
