A total of 10 vessels! A Jiangsu shipyard secures another new VLCC order.

Swiss commodity trading company Trafigura has returned to Hanwha Ocean, placing an additional order for two 319,000-dwt VLCCs.

According to TradeWinds, the hull numbers of the two latest VLCCs—HT-OT319-467 and HT-OT319-468—are expected to be delivered in September 2029 and March 2030, respectively. The prices of the new vessels have not been disclosed. Earlier, ship brokers estimated that the cost per VLCC in this batch ordered by Trafigura would not exceed US$120 million.

For reference, according to Clarkson’s data, the current price of a newly built VLCC with a deadweight tonnage of 315,000 to 320,000 tons is approximately US$126 million (about RMB 897 million), slightly down from US$129 million in the same period last year.

Including the latest order, Trafigura has already placed orders with Hanwha Shipbuilding & Offshore for 10 VLCCs. It is understood that the company signed its first contract with Hanwha Shipbuilding & Offshore early last year for the construction of two VLCCs—these marked Trafigura’s first-ever fleet of owned VLCCs and also represented Hanwha Shipbuilding & Offshore’s very first VLCC order. Later that same year, Trafigura went on to place additional orders for four more vessels of the same type. In July of this year, Hanwha Shipbuilding & Offshore announced that it had secured two more VLCC orders from Trafigura.

This series of vessels features an ammonia-ready design and is equipped with desulfurization devices. The first two VLCCs will be delivered in 2026, and the next four will be delivered in 2027. The seventh and eighth vessels, ordered this July, are scheduled for delivery in 2028.

Trafigura’s large-scale ordering of VLCCs stems from its strong confidence in the market prospects for this vessel type. The company believes that the VLCC market is growing and that there is a need to “replace aging fleets with new ships.”

Recently, orders for new VLCCs have surged. According to Clarkson’s data, the number of new VLCC orders since July has reached 38, whereas in the first half of this year it was only 12. Ralph Leszczynski, Global Research Head at Banchero Costa, noted that the increase in orders is driven by underinvestment in the past and an optimistic medium-term market outlook.

It is understood that Trafigura is one of the world’s leading independent multinational trading and logistics companies specializing in commodities. Headquartered in Singapore, the company primarily deals in base metals and energy, including petroleum. As one of the world’s largest traders of metals and minerals, Trafigura Group sources, stores, blends, and delivers essential raw materials and commodities worldwide. In 2020, Trafigura Group’s total trade volume of oil and petroleum products reached 268 million tons, ranking it 27th on Fortune’s Global 500 list.

According to Clarkson’s data, Trafigura’s current fleet consists of 20 tankers, including 1 VLCC, 2 Suezmax tankers, 1 LR2 tanker, 5 LR1 tankers, 1 VLGC, 3 medium-sized LPG carriers, and 7 asphalt carriers, with a total carrying capacity of approximately 1.37 million deadweight tons. In addition to the VLCC order, the company’s newbuildings under construction also include four medium-sized LPG carriers of 45,000 cubic meters being built by HD Hyundai Mipo, as well as one asphalt carrier of 17,500 deadweight tons being constructed by CSSC Chengxi.

It is understood that Hantong Shipbuilding & Heavy Industry was established in 2003. The company boasts a natural deep-water shoreline along the Yangtze River spanning 1,000 meters and occupies an area of approximately 800,000 square meters. Its annual steel processing capacity reaches 150,000 tons. Its key facilities include three shipbuilding slipways capable of handling vessels up to 50,000-ton and 80,000-ton classes; a hull and piping outfitting workshop covering 120,000 square meters; a painting center featuring one-stage two-coat and two-stage four-coat painting processes, with an area of 18,000 square meters; as well as a配套 outfitting dock. The company’s main product lines focus on two major vessel types—bulk carriers and liquid cargo ships—as well as offshore engineering products. Its bulk carrier offerings encompass various types ranging from 38,000 to 208,000 deadweight tons, while its liquid cargo ship series covers the entire range from MR, LR1, LR2, Suezmax, to VLCC tankers.

Excluding the latest orders, according to Clarkson’s data, as of now Hanwha Shipbuilding & Offshore has a total of 97 vessels on order, with a combined deadweight tonnage of 11.9845 million tons. Among these, there are 66 bulk carriers, 12 oil tankers, and 19 container ships, with delivery schedules extending through 2029.