Scorpio Tankers (NYSE: STNG) won't stop until every oil tanker on the seas is a Scorpio tanker. Or at least that's how it seems sometime. On Thursday, the company that at last report had a total of 39 tankers under contract to be built -- 23 MRs, eight LR2s, and eight Handymaxes -- announced that it has contracted five South Korean shipyards to build it an additional 16 new vessels -- eight LR2s, four MRs, and four Handymax ice class-1A tankers.
For those keeping score, this means the company's fleet-under-construction now totals:
- 27 medium range MR tankers.
- 16 long-range LR2s.
- A round dozen Handymaxes.
To help pay for the anticipated $2 billion price tag to build all these ships, Scorpio recently obtained a $525 million credit facility. Presumably this will be all the additional funds Scorpio needs to access. Company CEO Emanuele Lauro noted that with construction prices on the rise, and shipyards essentially maxed out on their ability to produce ships through 2015, Scorpio is calling a halt to its expansion and has "no plans for further newbuilding contracts."
