SET-listed Prima Marine Plc (PRM), Thailand's highest-capacity operator of petroleum liners, plans to expand its fleet with a budget allocation of 6 billion baht this year.
This new investment supports growth in the domestic market and demand for petroleum products, serving both domestic transport and international trade.
Chief executive Chanwit Anukkul said PRM will add a further two floating storage unit (FSU) ships to the fleet, which already has five FSU ships with a utilisation rate of 90%.
The company plans to retire three FSU ships soon.
"PRM has ordered six FSU ships with a capacity of 3,000 deadweight tonnage each as part of our effort to tally petroleum shipments of over 5 billion litres a year," Mr Chanwit said.
The company is considering buying two larger ships of 5,000 deadweight tonnage each, he said.
"By 2019, PRM expects a fleet of around 40 ships, up from 36 last year," Mr Chanwit said.
He said the marine liners cover FSU ships and offshore support vessels, part of PRM's emphasis on ship management.
PRM expects 2019 revenue to grow by 10-15%.
Last year, PRM posted nearly 5 billion baht in revenue, up 10% from the year before.
"We estimate an average global oil price in 2019 of US$60-70 a barrel, which is not too high and should not affect demand for marine transport," Mr Chanwit said.
PRM has seen rapid growth in petroleum liner operations over the last two years, and the company's latest move is to purchase an accommodation barge to serve activities for SET-listed PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP).
The accommodation barge has been serving PTTEP since December.
Mr Chanwit said PRM is in talks with several companies to expand marine transport in the overseas market, with a deal to be announced this year.
Last March, PRM acquired the entirety of Big Sea's ordinary shares of 360,000 for an investment of 2.9 billion baht.
Big Sea is in the oil shipping and maritime business in Thailand and supplies products for oil refineries and terminals, mainly in the eastern and southern provinces.
PTT, Bangchak, IRPC and Shell Thailand are Big Sea customers.
Big Sea operates 13 small vessels, each under 10,000 deadweight tonnage.
PRM shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 5.90 baht, up 15 satang, in trade worth 25.2 million baht.