The幕后 shipowner revealed! Another leading wind power company has crossed over into shipbuilding and secured a series of major contracts.

The identity of the ultimate owner behind the six large oil tanker orders secured by Tianshun Wind Power last week has come to light.

Earlier, on the evening of July 31, Tianshun Wind Energy (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. announced that a construction contract for six 114,000‑dwt LR2‑type product/crude oil tankers, signed between its wholly owned offshore‑engineering subsidiary and a subsidiary of a globally renowned shipowner, has officially taken effect. The new vessels are scheduled for phased delivery between 2028 and 2029, with a total contract value of approximately US$420 million to US$480 million (roughly RMB 2.85 billion to RMB 3.26 billion).

However, Tianshun Wind Energy has not disclosed the identity of the shipowner. According to International Shipping Network, Centrofin Management, owned by Greek shipowner Dimitris Procopiou, may be the entity behind this order. At present, neither Centrofin nor Tianshun Wind Energy has publicly confirmed this information.

This order is a key component of Centrofin’s strategy to modernize its fleet. Currently, Marine Trust, the tanker operating company under Centrofin, manages seven LR2‑type tankers, five of which were built between 2008 and 2010. In addition, two more LR2‑type tankers—the “Ninemia” (built in 2024) and the “Wave” (built in 2023)—were added to the fleet last year through secondhand vessel transactions.

In addition to this order from Tianshun Wind Energy, Centrofin currently has four Suezmax tankers on order from Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea, scheduled for delivery in 2028. To date, Centrofin’s operating tanker fleet comprises a total of 26 vessels, including 12 Suezmax tankers, 7 LR2 tankers, 3 LR1 tankers, and 4 MR product tankers.

This marks the second batch of tanker orders that Tianshun Wind Energy has secured in recent weeks. Earlier, on July 21, Tianshun Wind Energy announced it had received an order for two plus two 113,800‑dwt Aframax crude oil tankers; the identity of the shipowner remains undisclosed, and the new vessels are scheduled for delivery between 2028 and 2029.

This batch of tanker orders marks Tian Shun Wind Energy’s entry into the large commercial vessel construction market. Since 2026, its oil and gas vessel division has secured contracts to build 10 Aframax/LR2‑type tankers, along with an order for the hull of one floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, bringing its total backlog to 11 oil and gas vessels and offshore engineering projects.

Since 2026, Tianshun Wind Energy has continuously expanded its order book in commercial vessels, FSOs (floating storage and offloading units), FPSOs (floating production storage and offloading units), as well as offshore wind turbine jacket foundations and monopiles, establishing a development model in which offshore wind‑energy equipment, floating offshore‑engineering assets, and commercial transport vessels are advanced in parallel.

According to reports, Tianshun Wind Energy was founded in Suzhou in 2005 and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2010. It is one of China’s leading wind‑energy equipment manufacturers, with core businesses spanning wind turbine towers, offshore wind jacket foundations, monopiles, and high‑end marine and offshore oil‑and‑gas equipment. The company has established a global R&D and manufacturing network, operating specialized production bases in Nantong and Sheyang in Jiangsu Province, Jieyang and Lufeng in Guangdong Province, Yangjiang in Guangdong Province, and Cuxhaven, Germany. These facilities enable the company to provide end‑to‑end, one‑stop solutions—from equipment design and construction to delivery—for customers worldwide.

In recent years, the global newbuilding market has remained robust, with shipyard capacity tightening and new‑build prices continuing to rise, attracting an increasing number of renewable‑energy equipment manufacturers to enter the shipbuilding sector.

In addition to Tianshun Wind Energy, earlier this year, another domestic leader in wind‑power equipment, Dajin Heavy Industry, also officially entered the mainstream commercial shipbuilding market. Since the beginning of the year, Dajin Heavy Industry has secured a series of orders from overseas shipowners for Newcastlemax‑class bulk carriers and multi‑purpose heavy‑lift vessels, with total order value exceeding RMB 10 billion—nearly matching the company’s full‑year revenue forecast for 2025.