Initially, Atlas Maritime has reportedly signed a letter of intent (LOI) with the South Korean shipyard DH Shipbuilding for the construction of two additional Suezmax tankers, with a capacity of 157,000 dwt each, with delivery in 2026-2027.
The Greek shipping company has been implementing an expanded shipbuilding program over the last years. According to its website, the order book consists of 14 vessels – not including the two new ones – of which 10 are tankers and four are car carriers. All tankers are built in South Korea, while the PCTCs are built at China’s CIMC Raffles.
The company’s existing fleet consists of one aframax tanker. Atlas will equip the newly built ships with “super eco” engines, while it has also chosen dual fuel LNG technology, either at the “ready” level (after conversions), or for direct installation.
At the same time, Medcare Shipping, based in Greece, reportedly ordered three MR product tankers, each with a capacity of 41,000 dwt, at the Chinese shipyard Penglai Jinglu. The ships will be delivered by 2027. The shipping company controls, according to the Equasis data platform, a fleet of five ships, three tankers and two bulkers.
In another deal, London-based Union Maritime is said to have ordered up to four aframax/LR2 tankers (2+2), of 113,600 dwt each, at China’s Xiamen Shipbuilding, based on shipping brokerage Clarksons. The first two ships are scheduled to be delivered in 2027. It is noted that the new ships will be able to burn LNG.
Orders
According to Clarksons, 154 crude oil tankers have signed contracts so far, down by 1% on an annual basis. In 2023, shipowners placed orders for 392 ships of this type.
On the other hand, in the chemical and special tankers sector, a total of 83 new shipbuilding agreements were recorded this year (+48% on an annual basis). In the 12th month of 2023 orders were placed for a total of 141 ships.
