<p>"During the current financial year, the utilisation and charter line rates of LPG vessels have improved considerably mainly due to an increased domestic LPG demand, partially generated by the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitrak Scheme," Varun Shipping's Chairman and Managing Director, Arun Mehta, told shareholders at the AGM of the company here.<br /><br />There has been an improvement in freight rates for the Aframax vessels in the crude oil sector. International oil companies have increased their exploration activities in the North Sea, West Africa and Brazil which have improved the demand of AHTS (Anchor Handling & Tug System) vessels, he said.<br /><br />The company owns a diversified fleet of 20 vessels including 10 LPG carriers which is the largest LPG fleet in India. It owns three Aframax crude oil tankers and seven AHTS vessels. According to Mehta, the previous year was bad for the shipping industry as a whole due to the global recession, which resulted in a sharp drop in freight rates across sectors.<br /><br />Though utilisation levels in the LPG sector was better last year, Indian vessels had to match the lower rates offered by foreign players which resulted in sub-optimal returns for the company, he said.<br /><br />Crude oil tankers were affected by lower oil consumption all over the world while AHTS vessel charter rates were down due to a sharp cut-down in deep sea exploration activities by oil companies, he said.</p>
<p>"During the current financial year, the utilisation and charter line rates of LPG vessels have improved considerably mainly due to an increased domestic LPG demand, partially generated by the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitrak Scheme," Varun Shipping's Chairman and Managing Director, Arun Mehta, told shareholders at the AGM of the company here.<br /><br />There has been an improvement in freight rates for the Aframax vessels in the crude oil sector. International oil companies have increased their exploration activities in the North Sea, West Africa and Brazil which have improved the demand of AHTS (Anchor Handling & Tug System) vessels, he said.<br /><br />The company owns a diversified fleet of 20 vessels including 10 LPG carriers which is the largest LPG fleet in India. It owns three Aframax crude oil tankers and seven AHTS vessels. According to Mehta, the previous year was bad for the shipping industry as a whole due to the global recession, which resulted in a sharp drop in freight rates across sectors.<br /><br />Though utilisation levels in the LPG sector was better last year, Indian vessels had to match the lower rates offered by foreign players which resulted in sub-optimal returns for the company, he said.<br /><br />Crude oil tankers were affected by lower oil consumption all over the world while AHTS vessel charter rates were down due to a sharp cut-down in deep sea exploration activities by oil companies, he said.</p>