Iran's state shipping company will take delivery of three new oil supertankers in the first quarter of 2009, boosting its fleet by about 12 per cent, a senior company official said. Iran is the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, and operates 25 supertankers, which can each hold two million barrels.

The new tankers are part of the National Iranian Tanker Company's (NITC) nearly $2 billion (Dh7.3bn) plan to boost its very large crude carrier (VLCC) fleet to 38 supertankers to meet the growing demand for oil shipping, its commercial director Shseyedan Seyedhabibollah said.

"We ordered about 10 VLCCs last year, and will take delivery of these between 2010 and 2011, this is part of our effort to become a global shipping company," Seyedhabibollah said.

NITC will also take delivery early next year of one new Suezmax oil tanker capable of holding up to one million barrels, he said.

South Korean shipyards built all the vessels due to arrive in early 2009, Seyedhabibollah said.

Despite sanctions from the West and the US pressure on financial institutions to stay away from Iran, Tehran secured financing for its fleet expansion from several European and Asian banks. BNP Paribas of France acted as lead financier. Iran sits on 11 per cent of the world's oil reserves, and has the world's second-largest gas reserves. It pumps about four million barrels a day to world markets, with about 60 per cent bound for Asia and the remaining headed to Europe.

Seyedhabibollah said the recent support for supertanker freight rates were partly due to demand for floating storage facilities in the US Gulf Coast and the North Sea.

"Yes, if the freight rates stay at this level, not lower, we will be happy," he said.

Oil majors and independent trading houses are storing at least 24 million barrels of crude on oil tankers around the world, a survey showed. The rush to book oil tankers for floating storage has helped push up crude freight rates on major export routes.

The shipping firm is still considering a plan to order up to 30 new liquefied natural gas carriers (LNG), Seyedhabibollah said.

"We are not making any orders yet," he said, but did not offer more details.

NITC has said it wanted to build an LNG fleet to match Iran's ambitious LNG export plans. But the US and UN sanctions have deterred investment by international energy firms capable of building LNG export plants and Iran is struggling to source the technology to move ahead with its plans.

Iran signed gas deals worth $14bn with Malaysia's SKS Group in early December, including a contract to build an LNG plant.