Maersk Tankers grabs early STX delivery slots

Seoul: Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk  said on Thursday it had placed an order for four very large crude oil carriers at South Korea's STX Shipbuilding  and had an option for two more ships.

"We are in place with the transaction and the contract will signed next week," Maersk Tankers director Soren Skou told Reuters. The Danish firm is thought to be paying $153m per ship. STX was selected due to the availability of 2011 delivery slots.  [29/8/08]