Second Iranian oil tanker sets sail for Venezuela
In a ceremony attended by the Iranian and Venezuelan presidents, the second oil tanker sets sail for the Latin American country.
During the visit of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to Iran to meet his Iranian counterpart President Ebrahim Raisi, he attended a ceremony during which the 'Aframax 2' oil tanker built by Iran Marine Industrial Company, also known as SADRA, set sail to the Latin American country.
The two counterparts spoke to the crews on the dock of the Persian Gulf, via video conference, and were briefed on the construction and operation of the tanker. This is the second Iranian-made, Venezuela-bound oil tanker of its kind. According to the contract, Iran will also deliver two more tankers to Venezuela after construction.
تصاویری از نفتکش «آفراماکس» ساخت ایران که دومین فروند آن، امروز به ونزوئلا تحویل داده شد pic.twitter.com/uMkgFmXzjW
— Mousavian (@hmousavian) June 11, 2022
According to the CEO of the company Ali Zare’ei, the construction of 'Aframax 2' took about two years. On Wednesday, the crew conducted marine tests following the preliminary tests.
The oil tanker weighs 21,500 tons, measuring 250 meters long and 44 meters wide, 21 meters high on the deck, which can carry 113,000 tons of crude oil equivalent to 750,000 barrels.
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The ship has a propelling engine with 21,000 horsepower and three diesel generators, each of which can produce 900 kilowatts of electricity.
According to a shipping report, the first Iranian oil tanker carrying about 1 million barrels of Iranian heavy crude recently arrived in Venezuelan waters "for delivery to the country's largest refinery," Reuters reported on May 23.
Owned and operated by the National Iranian Tanker Company, the Iran-flagged Suezmax tanker Silvia I, arrived on May 22 in "an anchorage area near Venezuela's Amuay port, which serves the 645,000-barrel-per-day refinery," Reuters revealed.