Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco says it has agreed to merge its maritime division with the country's state-owned shipping line to create the world's fourth-largest tanker operation. Aramco said the $1.3-billion merger will transfer the fleet of the company's sea-going subsidiary, Vela International, to the state shipping company Bahri. Under the terms of the deal, Vela will transfer its entire operations and fleet that includes 14 large crude carriers. For an initial 10-year period, Bahri will be the exclusive provider of crude shipping services for Aramco.
