India’s AMNS Shipping and Logistics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Limited (AMNS), has acquired two Kamsarmax bulk carriers to consolidate the steel producer’s captive logistical and transportation infrastructure, company sources said on Wednesday, October 19.
The two vessels registered with local maritime authorities are of 81,000 dead weight tonnage (DWT) each, the sources said.
The sources said that until now AMNS was dependent on foreign flag-bearing vessels to transport about 15 million mt per year of steelmaking raw materials from India’s east coast to its west coast where the company’s steel mill is located in Gujarat.
The acquisition of its own vessels will significantly reduce costs and dependency on foreign flag-bearing transporters, the sources said.
Its own vessels will improve the cost structure of the steel producer at a time of rising freight rates and will ensure more environmentally-friendly transport at lower carbon emissions, the sources added.