UNITED Arab Shipping Company (USAC) has gained a US$150 million loan facility with Kuwait's Burgan Bank to support its capacity expansion of nine recently acquired 13,500-TEU ships first designated for the Asia/Middle East - Europe trade.

The seven-year loan facility will support the deployment of these ships on various north-south routes.

"We will be working closely with local and regional banks to ensure the successful implementation of our financial strategies, and expansion plans, to offer more comprehensive and cost competitive shipping solutions to our customers from around the globe," said UASC chief financial officer Basil Al-Zaid.

UASC is owned by six Gulf countries of Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It owns and operates 49 containerships including the nine ultra large containerships A13s joining the fleet.