ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), the shipping and logistics arm of Abu Dhabi's state energy giant, has committed $1.3 billion to acquire 11 vessels — six very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and five very large gas carriers (VLGCs) — through a combination of secondhand purchases and newbuild resale transactions.

Nine of the vessels — all six VLCCs and three of the VLGCs — were purchased on the secondhand market and are scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2026. The remaining two VLGCs are newbuild resales from an undisclosed Chinese shipyard, with deliveries expected in the fourth quarter.

ADNOC L&S has not publicly identified the sellers or the individual vessels. However, sale-and-purchase (S&P) market sources have named John Fredriksen's Frontline and Greece-based Delta Tankers as the VLCC counterparties, and Petredec as the counterparty on the VLGC side.

Once delivered, the acquisitions will bring ADNOC L&S's VLCC fleet to 14 vessels and its VLGC fleet to 12. The additions expand capacity across two core segments of the energy shipping market: crude transport and LPG transport, both of which are closely tied to ADNOC's broader production, trading, and export operations. All 11 ships are expected to enter direct service with ADNOC as the energy group scales up its production, trading, and export operations.

This latest buying spree follows ADNOC L&S's order less than a month ago for four 175,000-cubic-metre LNG carriers at China's Jiangnan Shipyard, valued at approximately $900 million. Those vessels, slated for delivery in 2029, raised the company's LNG newbuilding programme to 18 ships. At the time, ADNOC L&S stated that its total fleet investment commitments since 2022 — including its share of the AW Shipping joint venture newbuilding programme — had exceeded $5 billion.

Source: Splash247