Norwegian shipping magnate places another order! Chinese private shipbuilders lead the world in order backlogs.

Seatankers Management, a company under Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen, recently returned to New Era Shipbuilding and placed an additional order for two Suezmax tankers with a deadweight of 156,800 tons each.

It is reported that Seatankers’ two newly ordered vessels will be delivered in 2029. The price of the new vessels has not been disclosed, but according to foreign media reports, each vessel is estimated to cost around US$79 million, meaning the total value of the two new vessels is approximately US$158 million (about RMB 1.123 billion). For reference, data from Clarkson show that the current price of a new Aframax tanker with a deadweight tonnage of 156,000 to 158,000 tons is about US$85 million, representing a decrease of roughly 5% compared to the US$90 million recorded during the same period last year.

Including the latest order, Seatankers currently has 8 Suezmax tankers under construction at New Era Shipbuilding. The first six of these were ordered in March 2024, with four scheduled for delivery in 2027 and two in 2028.

In addition to the orders from New Era Shipbuilding, the company has also placed an order with Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding for five Suezmax crude oil tankers, each with a deadweight tonnage of 158,000 tons. The first vessel will be delivered in December, three vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2026, and the final vessel will be delivered in 2027.

Meanwhile, sources said that Seatankers is currently in talks with Hanwha Shipbuilding & Offshore and Penglai Jinglu Shipbuilding to order Newcastlemax bulk carriers. If this order ultimately goes to Jinglu Shipbuilding, it will mark the first time that Jinglu Shipbuilding has built large-scale bulk carriers.

Last year, Seatankers placed an order with the Qingdao Shipyard of China Merchants Industry for six Newcastlemax bulk carriers. This marks Seatankers’ first major newbuilding order for bulk carriers since 2018.

For Xincheng Shipbuilding, the latest order further strengthens its leading position in the Suezmax tanker sector. According to Clarkson’s data, Xincheng Shipbuilding currently holds orders for as many as 40 Suezmax tankers, significantly ahead of South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries (27 vessels) and DH Shipbuilding (23 vessels), ranking first among single-shipyard operators worldwide.

It is understood that Xinchang Shipbuilding, founded in 1971, is a large-scale private enterprise integrating ship design and manufacturing. It was the first local shipyard in China to build a 10,000-ton vessel (in 1996) and the first private shipyard in China to construct a large LNG dual-fuel powered vessel (in 2019). The company’s total assets exceed 40 billion yuan, its site covers an area of approximately 2.6 million square meters, and its shoreline stretches for about 3,200 meters. Currently, it has three shipyards, three outfitting terminals, as well as supporting facilities such as an intelligent modular fabrication workshop and an intelligent assembly and welding workshop for large-diameter ship pipes.

In the new era, Xinchang Shipbuilding’s main products include medium- and large-sized bulk carriers, oil and chemical tankers, and container ships powered by conventional engines as well as dual-fuel LNG propulsion systems. These include 50,000-ton chemical tankers, 325,000-ton Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOCs), 320,000-ton Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), 110,000-ton/158,000-ton oil tankers, 210,000-ton bulk carriers, and 8,100- to 18,000-TEU container ships—high-tech, eco-friendly vessels. In 2024, the company delivered a total of 34 vessels with a combined deadweight tonnage of 4.2707 million tons, setting a new record for annual vessel deliveries. The company’s total completed shipbuilding volume ranked among the top three nationwide.

According to Clarkson’s data, including the latest orders, New Era Shipbuilding currently has a total of 157 vessels on hand, with a combined deadweight tonnage of 22.94 million tons. Among these, there are 8 bulk carriers, 80 oil tankers, and 69 container ships, with delivery schedules extending as far as 2029.