State-owned Kuwait Oil Tanker Company (KOTC) has extended the deadline to 1 May for three contracts to design, build and deliver nine new crude oil tankers of various sizes.

Bids for the shipbuilding deal were originally due in on 29 March after being delayed from 22 February. Prequalified firms include:

• Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Company Limited (South Korea)
• Hyundai Heavy Industries (South Korea)
• Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Company (South Korea)
• Samsung Heavy Industries (South Korea)
• Sasebo Heavy Industries (South Korea)
• Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation (Japan)
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan)

KOTC tendered three ship building deals at the end of January as it seeks to expand its crude carrying fleet to 34 vessels by 2020, from 21 currently. The company also has 12 tankers of various sizes for transporting oil derivatives, as well as four tankers for transporting gas. The company signed a a $700m deal with Daewoo to build four VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carrier) in August 2008 (MEED 28:1:11).

The first deal covers four new medium-range tankers of 25,000-45,000 deadweight tonnes (dwt). The second deal will see four new VLCCs built, capable of carrying 160,000-320,000 dwt. The final tender is for the construction of an Aframax crude oil tanker, which can carry a maximum of 120,000 dwt, equivalent to 825,000 barrels of crude.