Wuchang Shipbuilding wins 2 more orders for chemical tankers from Greek shipowners

Greek shipowner Athenian Sea Carriers returns to Wuchang Shipbuilding and orders two more 18500 deadweight ton chemical tankers, increasing the number of orders for ships in the same series to 10.

According to Trade Wind News, Jens Martin Jensen, CEO of Athenian Sea Carriers, confirmed that the company has confirmed the execution of an alternative order for two additional 18500 deadweight ton chemical tankers. The new ships comply with the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase III regulations and Tier II requirements, and it is expected that all 10 new ships will be delivered for operation between 2025 and 2027.
The latest prices for the two orders have not been announced, but it is understood that Athenian Sea Carriers ordered eight ships of the same type last year, each costing approximately $30 million. Based on this calculation, the total value of 10 ships will reach 300 million US dollars (approximately 2.182 billion yuan).

It is understood that Athenian Sea Carriers is an oil tanker management company with extensive experience in the transportation of crude oil and petroleum products. The company initially entered the market for this type of ship by ordering four chemical tankers from Wuchang Shipbuilding in early 2023. In October of the same year, four ships of the same type were added to Wuchang Shipbuilding.

Jensen said, "We look forward to receiving the first ship by mid-2025. Currently, the fleet of ships of the same type in the market is severely aging, shrinking in size, and regulatory requirements are becoming increasingly strict

While investing in the chemical tanker market, Athenian Sea Carriers is also gradually selling off its fleet of crude oil vessels. It is reported that the company has sold 6 VLCCs between 2021 and 2026. According to Clarkson's data, currently there is only one operating vessel in its fleet, the 317000 deadweight ton VLCC "Captain X. Kyriakou" (built in 2013), and all orders held are 18500 deadweight ton chemical tankers built by Wuchang Shipbuilding.

In recent years, Wuchang Shipbuilding has been committed to building chemical tankers as the main and brand ship types, establishing a specialized chemical tanker design team and a complete process technology system, and accumulating rich design and construction experience. We have successively undertaken and built a batch of high-performance products, breaking through key design technical problems such as overall design of chemical tankers, liquid cargo system design, hazardous area design, and comprehensive layout of liquid cargo systems. We have solved key process problems such as manufacturing, installation, and special coating of duplex stainless steel structures and pipelines, and formed a brand effect.

Excluding the latest orders, Clarkson's data shows that Wuchang Shipbuilding currently holds a total of 38 orders of 524800 deadweight tons, including 19 chemical tankers. In addition, there are 3 container ships, 5 deck transport ships, 4 multi-purpose workboats, 3 roll on/roll off ships, and 4 other ship types, with delivery times extending until 2028.