Oman Shipping Co. Signs $356M Loan for Ore Carriers

Oman Shipping Company has signed a 137 million rials ($355.8 million) loan with two local banks to fund the acquisition of four Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOCs), it said in a statement on Monday.

The VLOCs will be chartered to Vale International for a period of 20 years, the statement said, adding Vale had iron ore pelletising facilities in the sultanate with a capacity of 9 million tonnes per year - with exports going to South Asia.

The facility, which has a 12-year lifespan, saw Bank Muscat contribute 107 million rials and Bank Dhofar provide 30 million rials.

The VLOCs each have a capacity of 400,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT), which make them among the largest dry cargo vessels in the world, the statement added. ($1 = 0.3850 Omani rials)