OSLO: Norwegian-born shipping tycoon John Fredriksen plans to spend millions of dollars to buy 10 oil tankers, hoping that their fuel capacity will give him an edge in a market facing severe overcapacity, the Financial Times reported on Monday (13 February 2012).
Fedriksen plans to buy the medium range oil carriers from an as yet undisclosed builder for Frontline 2012, which was created last year as part of a massive restructuring of Frontline, one of the world's leading oil tanker shipping companies, the British financial daily reported.
The plan of adding more new tankers to a market already facing a significant glut might "seem crazy to most people," Fredriksen acknowledged to the paper.
But he insisted that "at today's bunker prices, we'll save $10,000 a day" due to the new vessels' high fuel capacity, and pointing out he had been offered prices down to $85 million per vessel compared to the peak price of $180 million.
Fredriksen, who lives in London and has become a citizen of Cyprus for taxation reasons, owns 52 percent of Frontline 2012.
Last year, Fredriksen ranked 72nd on Forbes' list of world billionaires, with a personal net worth of $10.7 billion.
Source: AFP