Valles Orders at Namura

LLOYDS LIST 26th August 2003

VALLES Steamship is understood to have exercised its option at Namura Shipbuilding, meaning the Japanese yard will now build two 105,000 dwt tankers.

Both ships will be delivered by the end of the second quarter of 2005, thus closing Namura's slots for that year. Valles is thought to be paying around $36m each for the ships.

Valles' relationship with Namura stretches back to 1970. The Hong Kong owner, known for its cautious pragmatism, has upped the ante lately by now boasting four ships on order, the two aframaxes at Namura and the landmark order at Hudong-Zhongua in Shanghai for a one plus one aframax deal which sources believe the option has already been exercised.

Valles owns seven aframaxes and two capesizes and is run by K M Koo, a cousin of Tung Chee-hwa, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

TRADEWINDS – 22nd August 2003

Hong Kong- and Vancouver-based Valles Steamships has upped its newbuilding count with an order for an aframax tanker at Namura Shipbuilding in Japan.

The 105,000-dwt tanker is said to be costing $36m, a price similar to what the company is paying for the 110,000-dwt tanker it recently ordered at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in China.

Some industry sources indicate that like the Hudong order, this deal is purely speculative as no charter for the tanker is attached. This comes as a surprise to many because Valles is generally regarded as a conservative operator that usually orders only on the back of a charter.

There have been some murmurings in the industry that the timing of the orders, which are due to be delivered in late 2005, is bad, as it may coincide with a weak aframax market.

Tanker brokers, however, do not appear overly concerned. "These ships are not expensive and two years is still a long time away. Besides, Valles has a good reputation among higher-end charterers. They won't have too much trouble lining up decent charters," said one source familiar with the company.