Sonangol received, this Monday 10th April, in the city of Mokpo (South Korea), the new oil tanker, named “Kulumbimbi”.
The oil tanker built at the Hyundai Sambo Heavy Industries shipyards cost the Angolan oil company US$68 million.
The ship will have a crew made up of 80 percent Angolans and a useful life of 20 years. It is part of the Suezmax line, with the capacity to transport 1 million barrels of crude, within internationally accepted specifications.
The information was provided by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sonangol, Sebastião Gaspar Martins, at the end of the ceremony.
Gaspar Martins stated that the revenues obtained from the use of the other ships helped in the investment of this new oil tanker, resulting from a contract for two vessels, each with the same monetary value. The second ship is expected to be delivered by the end of the current year. Sonangol’s PCA considered it to be a profitable business, since the ship will sail around the world, fulfilling its commitments, with a crew formed by Sonangol, in partnership with Indian entities.
For the Secretary of State for Oil and Gas, José Barroso, the new tanker is proof of Sonangol’s vision of taking advantage of the market opening.
José Barroso said that the vessel is part of a strategy by the Angolan oil company aimed at the national and international market.
Sonangol, he said, already has a contract to provide services for three years, thus representing an asset that can serve the LNG market and the Angolan economy in general.
The ship’s godmother, Marilina de Carvalho, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Asset Management and State Participation (IGAPE), Patrício Vilar, and entities from the oil sector took part in the act.
Kulumbimbi is the first Cathedral of the Catholic Church south of the Sahara, located in the city of Mbanza Congo, province of Zaire, World Heritage Site.
