National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia (NSCSA) posted profits of $30.8 million in the first half of 2001, compared to losses of $4.4 million in the same period of last year, NSCSA announced Sunday, July 22.
The company, without explaining the turnaround in performance, also said it has ordered four supertankers at a cost of $330 million from Hellespont Shipping Corporation of Greece.
The tankers, to be built at the South Korean shipyards of Samsung Heavy Industries, are due for delivery between October 2001 and October of next year, NSCA said in a statement.
The company has also sold off two ageing container ships for $5.8 million, a factor which will impact on the last six months of 2001, it said.
The government of oil-rich Saudi Arabia owns 29 percent of NSCSA's stock, while the rest is held by private shareholders. It has a capital of $533 million. ― (AFP, Riyadh)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
