site.btaBulgarian Shipping Company Adds Four New 45,000 T Ships to Fleet

The Navigation Maritime Bulgare shipping company (Navibulgar) will add four new 45,000-tonne ships to the 32,000-tonne vessels it operates, the shipowner's CEO, Captain Alexander Kalchev, said on Tuesday. The vessels that the company is building have been designed jointly with Chinese designers, are efficient and meet the highest environmental standards, he added.

The programme is worth nearly USD 128 million. Navibulgar's fleet is seven years old on the average, and the company aims to keep it that way, Kalchev said.

So far, Navibulgar has received five of the eight 32,000-tonne ships ordered under the programme, and the sixth one is expected to join the fleet by the end of August 2022. Another two will be completed in 2023, the company CEO added.

The four 45,000-tonne ships will join the fleet in 2024 and in early 2025.

Navibulgar currently has crews ranging between 1,000 and 1,200 hands.