Gulf Navigation Holding (GulfNav) has used a portion of its recently raised capital of AED 1 billion (USD 272 million) to refinance two petrochemical carriers.

The ships in question are the 2010-built Gulf Mishref and Gulf Mirdif, featuring the capacity to carry 26,000 tons respectively.

The two vessels operate on the East Coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico and further trips between the West African coast and Europe.

“The move underlines the increasing demand for the company’s shipping services, which requires increasing its fleet capacity to meet the demand for its services in the region,” the Dubai-based shipping company said.

The move has seen the value of the company’s assets jump from AED 958,956 to AED 1,081,948, an increase of 13 pct.

“Our ability to refinance the two carriers under the current global financial, economic and shipping conditions is a testament to the significant transformation in the group and the confidence of financiers and stakeholders in the company,” Khamis Juma Buamim, Board Member and MD & Group CEO of Gulf Navigation Holding, said.

“We have promised our investors and shareholders to increase the value of our assets and the number of vessels in our fleet to make the company one of the key marine service providers in the region. This will help us meet the growing demand in the liquidation and oil derivatives markets, which will further expand over the next 10 years. Acquiring this kind of tankers will give us a very competitive value and make us a preferred option for strategic customers to discuss and sign longterm contracts.”

The company said it would continue to increase its assets and expand its fleet to 20 vessels by 2020 by using the available capital from the company’s IPO.