Greek shipowner Adam Polemis returns to the newbuilding market for tankers, ordering Suezmax tankers from Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding.
According to foreign media reports, Adam Polemis's shipping company, New Shipping, recently signed a contract with Beihai Shipbuilding for 2+2 Suezmax tankers with a deadweight tonnage of 163,000. The new vessels will be delivered in 2028. Each vessel costs approximately US$77 million to US$78 million, and the total contract value will be approximately US$312 million (approximately RMB 2.239 billion) if all optional orders are exercised.
For reference, Clarkson's data shows that the price of a new 156,000-158,000 DWT Suezmax tanker is currently around US$86 million, a decrease of about 4% compared to US$90 million in the same period last year.
Sources say that in addition to Beihai Shipbuilding, Polemis has also contacted several shipyards, including Hengli Heavy Industry and Dalian Shipbuilding, planning to order not only Suezmax tankers but also LR2 and Panamax tankers.
New Shipping's fleet does have a need for renewal. Clarkson's data shows that New Shipping currently operates a fleet of 29 vessels, including 16 bulk carriers and 13 tankers, with an average age of over 16 years. In addition, the company currently only has one LR2 tanker under construction at Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding, which is expected to be delivered in 2027.
If New Shipping's order is confirmed, this will be Beihai Shipbuilding's first Suezmax tanker order. It is understood that Beihai Shipbuilding has mainly built large bulk carriers in the past. In August 2023, it entered the VLCC market for the first time by signing a 1+1 319,000 DWT VLCC construction project with Belgian Euronav (now CMB.Tech).
Based on CMB.Tech's VLCC project, Beihai Shipbuilding is actively adjusting its product structure and preparing to undertake more medium and large tanker projects. In April this year, a new generation of "Qimingxing" 319,000 DWT VLCC, 163,000 DWT Suezmax tanker, and 114,000 DWT Aframax tanker, tailor-made for Beihai Shipbuilding by the China Ship Development and Design Center (CSDC), received Approval in Principle (AIP) certificates from several classification societies. Among them, the "Qimingxing" 163,000 DWT Suezmax tanker received certificates from American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Bureau Veritas (BV).
Earlier this year, there were reports that Belgian maritime giant CMB.Tech would order one 319,000 DWT VLCC and 2+2 Suezmax tankers from Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding. These new vessels will use traditional fuels but will have methanol/ammonia-ready designs. However, CMB.Tech has denied this news.
Excluding New Shipping's latest order, Clarkson's data shows that Beihai Shipbuilding currently has a total order book of 64 vessels with 15.99 million DWT, including 41 Newcastlemax bulk carriers, 18 325,000 DWT very large ore carriers (VLOCs), and 5 319,000 DWT very large crude carriers (VLCCs), with delivery dates extending to 2029.