Greece's Thenamaris is splashing more than $160m on midsize tanker and bulker newbuildings for the first time in almost 10 years as the company renews its fleet.
It is said to have placed orders for up to three MR tankers at South Korea's Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) and two 82,000-dwt bulker newbuildings at Sino-Japanese yard Nantong Cosco KHI Ship Engineering (Nacks) in China.
Officials at HMD, Nacks and Thenamaris declined to comment.
Thenamaris is understood to have booked two firm 50,000-dwt product carriers with HMD for delivery in the second quarter of 2022, and the deal includes an option for an extra vessel.
Shipbuilding sources said although the newbuildings contract is signed with HMD, the tankers will be built by its sister yard — Hyundai Vinashin Shipbuilding — in Vietnam. The Greek shipowner is said to be paying between $35m and $36m each for the vessels.
The sources added that Thenamaris has joined a growing list of shipowners in ordering IMO's older NOx-standard bulker newbuildings in China.
The two 82,000-dwt kamsarmaxes that it placed at Nacks are of Tier II emissions standards and are due for delivery in the first half of 2023. Thenamaris is believed to be paying about $27m each for the ships.
Shipping companies reported to have signed up for the Tier II bulker newbuildings include Evalend Shipping, Niovis Shipping, Susesea Holdings, Enesel and China’s SPDB Financial Leasing.
Shipbuilding sources said Chinese shipyards continue to sell IMO Tier II NOx-standard bulker newbuildings as there is still demand for the ships. These vessels, whose keels were laid more than five years ago, are said to be between $1m to $1.5m per ship cheaper than the Tier III vessels.
According to VesselsValue, Thenamaris owns a diversified fleet of 91 vessels that includes tankers, bulkers, containerships and gas carriers. It has 15 product carriers of between 40,000 dwt and 54,000 dwt, and 13 bulkers below panamax size.
VesselsValue data shows the Greek owner sold two supramax bulkers — the 56,900-dwt sisterships Seahope II and Seapace (both built 2010) — in January for $8.25m each to an unnamed buyer.
The last time Thenamaris ordered MR tankers was in 2011, when it signed up for four newbuildings with STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. Its last booking of midsize bulkers was in 2013, when it contracted Yangzhou Dayang Shipyard for four ultramaxes.
Thenamaris ordered four 38,000-cbm LPG newbuildings at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard between 2019 and 2020. The quartet is due for delivery from April this year to first quarter of 2022.
