Vela International Marine Limited's Al-Butain Star, the first of six Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) ordered from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, entered service Feb. 22 after a naming ceremony at the South Korean shipyard. The Al-Butain Star is given its name at Daewoo's shipyard before heading to Ras Tanura. Abdulaziz F. Al-Khayyal, Saudi Aramco's senior vice president of Industrial Relations, presided over the ceremony attended by more than 50 guests, including Daewoo Shipbuilding president and CEO Sang Tae Nam, S-Oil CEO Samir A. Tubayyeb and Saud A. Bukhari, manager of the Vela Tanker Construction Department. The new vessel is built to the latest shipbuilding rules and regulations, and to Vela's standards of safety, reliability and the environment to ensure the reliable transportation of Saudi Aramco's crude oil to its customers. The vessel is now underway and bound for Ras Tanura. Vela International Marine Limited is a wholly owned shipping subsidiary of Saudi Aramco and was established in 1984
