AET ACQUIRES MTL PETROLINK

AET ACQUIRES MTL PETROLINK    Crude oil transportation carrier company American Eagle Tankers on Tuesday said it was acquiring MTL Petrolink Corp., an American- based subsidiary of Marine Transport Corp., a subsidiary of Crowley Maritime Corp., for $18 million.    MTL, of Houston, currently charters-in on a long-term basis three double-sided tankers, and spot charters-in other tankers to provide lightering services and, through a subsidiary, also owns and operates all the equipment and infrastructure to support its lightering operations. Lightering is a process by which oil is transferred at sea from a larger vessel for transport to a refining plant, or other facility.
   The acquisition of MTLP now upgrades AET’s tanker fleet to 28 Aframaxes, all of which are either double-hulled or double-sided.
   AET, established in March 1994, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines.
   MTL Petrolink, founded in 1987, is headquartered in Houston, and provides lightering services to oil companies and traders or transporters of crude oil destined for ports in the Caribbean and U.S. Gulf. Through its subsidiary, Offshore Marine Services, the company owns and operates all the equipment and infrastructure to support its lightering operations.
   Marine Transport Corp. will continue to engage in its core businesses. Those include Jones Act product tanker trades, Jones Act chemical parcel tanker trades, and ship management for government and private customers. The company will continue to own, charter and manage approximately 40 vessels.