Taiwanese conglomerate Formosa Plastic Corporation (FPC) is planning to expand its fleet from 45 to 76 vessels within three years.
FPC affiliate Formosa Petrochemical Corporation chairman Wilfred Wang said the company wanted to control its transportation cost amid fluctuating international oil prices, according to local press reports.
The company said it will add 31 vessels, totaling 4.5 milllion dwt, to increase its carrying capacity to 8.2 million dwt, according to lloydslist.com.
The new vessels include 300,000dwt oil tankers, chemical tankers, capesize bulk carriers and panamax vessels.
FPC said the expansion plan did not include shipping demand generated by the group’s proposed Vietnamese steel plant, which is expected to increase transportation demand by up to 500,000t.
