Nearly $5bn! Chinese shipyard wins big order
Dynacom Tankers Management, an oil tanker company owned by Greek shipowner George Procopiou, has entered into an ordering agreement for eight 158,000 dwt Suezmax crude oil tankers with Jiangsu New Era Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Trade Winds reported on 25 March. The vessels are scheduled for completion and delivery in 2027-2028.
Industry sources estimate that the order is expected to have a price of US$81 million~US$84 million per vessel, with a total price of about US$648 million~US$672 million (about RMB4.67 billion~RMB4.85 billion). The vessels will be of liquefied natural gas (LNG) reserved design with exhaust gas scrubbers.
According to the report, the order brings to 10 the number of Suezmax tankers Dynacom Tankers Management has ordered from the Jiangsu-based shipyard. In February this year, the shipyard signed an order with Dynacom Tankers Management for two Suezmax tankers, which are expected to be delivered in 2026. Shipbuilding industry sources believe that Dynacom Tankers Management is the first shipowner in recent years to order a 4-year forward delivery of large tankers, due to the value of currency, material costs and other factors, shipyards are generally reluctant to accept such contracts.
Over the years, this Jiangsu shipyard has maintained good co-operation with Dynacom Tankers Management, and in addition to the 10 Suezmax tankers, the company has also ordered four very large tankers (VLCC), two Aframax product tankers and six LR I tankers from it. In addition, Dynacom Tankers Management has ordered VLCCs and LR Ⅰ type tankers, etc. from other Chinese shipyards.
According to statistics, together with this order, George Procopiou has invested more than US$3.8 billion in newbuildings since the beginning of 2022. Among them, 40 new tankers were built, with an investment of about $2.95 billion; 26 new bulk carriers were built, worth about $910 million.
Reportedly, George Procopiou's company is also actively seeking VLCC berths. The tanker and bulk carrier newbuildings it has ordered are expected to use traditional marine fuels, and Procopiou believes that the shipping industry will ultimately achieve net-zero emissions, but in the interim it prefers to use efficient traditional fuels rather than new technologies in the pilot stage. Dynacom Tankers Management is reported to have ordered newbuildings of VLCCs at a cost of about $115 million, LR II tankers at a cost of about $63 million and 75,000 dwt product tankers at a cost of about $53 million.