Due to sabotage by Turkish shipowner Interpipe considers time-charter of another vessel

Interpipe, a global producer of steel pipes and railway products headquartered in Ukraine, is considering leasing another vessel for the Odesa–Persian Gulf route after experiencing sabotage from a Turkish shipowner.

According to Oleksiy Yanovsky, Interpipe’s Director of Procurement and Logistics, who wrote a column for GMK Center, the company engaged with a Turkish shipowner at the end of last year to deliver pipes under a contract with QatarEnergy. The vessel, Iskenderun-M, was chartered for the shipment. However, instead of the agreed one-month timeframe, the journey to the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula took three months, resulting in a significant delay in delivering the cargo to the client.

Oleksiy Yanovsky noted that last year, for the first time in its history, Interpipe chartered a sea vessel under a time charter agreement for export shipments. Back then, the company shipped its products using small bulk carriers from Odesa to Varna, Bulgaria, where cargo was consolidated before being forwarded to end customers. The initial results were positive, confirming that time charters are an effective way to optimize maritime logistics.

Currently, having some volumes of shipments to the Middle East, Interpipe is preparing to lease another vessel to operate on the Odesa–Persian Gulf route. The company is now focused on establishing consistent cargo flow and selecting potential vessels for a long-term lease, Yanovsky added.

He also said that in the short term Interpipe won’t consider the option of creating its own cargo fleet. “But this remains on the table. It has been calculated, and under certain conditions, this solution is more efficient than a time-charter”, wrote Interpipe’s Director of Procurement and Logistics.