New York-listed Ship Finance International Limited has agreed to construct a pair of 114,000dwt LR2 oil product carriers at an undiclosed Korean shipyard.

The duo are scheduled to be delivered during the second half of 2017 and will thereafter commence long term time-charters to an investment-grade energy company in U.S.

The company said that the charter period will not less than seven years with options to extend the charter period by up to two years, and the aggregate annual EBITDA contribution from the vessels is estimated to approximately US$11m on average during the firm period of the charter.

"We are very pleased to further expand our presence in the tanker market with long term time-charters to one of the leading oil majors. The transaction demonstrates our standing in the market as a high quality provider of transportation services for our customers, and we continue building our fleet and charter backlog with accretive acquisitions," said Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of Ship Finance Management AS.