Taiwanese shipowner U-Ming Marine Transport has revealed a long-term strategic goal during a shareholders meeting of owning a fleet of 100 vessels with a total deadweight tonnage of over 10m tonnes. This would mean a considerable addition to the 72-strong fleet which includes capesize, panamax, post-panamax, supramax, ultramax, cement carriers, VLCCs, VLOCs, and CTVs for offshore wind farms. The total deadweight of the fleet is around 8.77m tonnes. The company also stated that it would be entering the LNG carrier sector and further increasing its footprint in the offshore wind market with large service operation vessels (SOVs). Additions to the fleet will not be the only course of action for the company as the company’s deputy general manager Xu Guoan said that U-Ming will also be replacing old vessels with new ones to keep its fleet young. It will also be looking to purchase new-generation zero-carbon or alternative energy dual-fuel and energy-saving ships as well as evaluating existing ships for the installation of the latest energy-saving equipment. This sort of intent was seen in March when U-Ming’s Singapore arm signed a memorandum of understanding with Itochu for jointly owning and operating ammonia dual-fuel bulk carriers. “When the operation scale reaches the goal of 100 ships, it will continue to use AI technology to reduce risks, save better fuel consumption, and save energy to increase revenue,” Xu Guoan added during his speech. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsTaiwan