Pertamina's shipping arm bets on a diversified fleet for global growth
PIS says spreading across vessel types, not sheer size, is the path to international trust
Pertamina International Shipping intends to keep pursuing a diversified fleet rather than concentrate on any single vessel type as the Indonesian state-owned company positions itself for greater international growth. Its chief executive said maintaining a broad portfolio allows the company to manage market volatility across shipping cycles and avoid losing the flexibility that comes with a mixed fleet.
The company currently owns 409 vessels, including 21 tankers and nine gas carriers. It has strengthened its focus on risk management and governance amid geopolitical uncertainty and tighter compliance demands, tightening know-your-customer checks on counterparties and expanding technology-supported transparency. During recent tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, one of its Aframaxes transited the waterway safely following the company's emergency response, while a very large crude carrier operating in the Gulf prepared for its own passage.
Following a restructuring earlier in the year, the business now focuses exclusively on international activities, having transferred its captive domestic shipping to another Pertamina unit. Management stresses that the strategy is not built on rapid fleet expansion but on improving the company's global recognition and the trust of partners and clients. To that end it signed a preliminary cooperation agreement with an international shipmanager during a major industry gathering in Athens, covering possible collaboration on talent, financing, systems and technology, while stressing that talks remain at an early stage.
The company is also expanding its offshore portfolio, including floating production and storage assets, and continuing to lower emissions. It reported a greenhouse gas reduction of 116,761 tonnes of CO2 equivalent last year, helped by optimising vessel speeds and eco-ship design, and says its ambition over the next few years is to become a globally trusted shipping partner rather than simply a larger fleet owner.
