Greek shipowner Evangelos Marinakis has emerged as a key player in the push for a new breed of very large ammonia carriers.
Last week, TradeWinds reported that Idan Ofer’s Eastern Pacific Shipping will be ordering four dual-fuel VLGCs — dubbed VLACs — at Hyundai Heavy Industries that will be able to carry a full load of ammonia or LPG.
In the latest twist in the newbuilding saga, Marinakis’ Capital Maritime & Trading is joining the order for the quartet, with each company taking delivery of two vessels, it is being said.
Shipbuilding sources with knowledge of the deal said the two companies have come together to jointly order the 88,000-cbm ships to take advantage of better pricing in a combined deal. It is unclear what discount they achieved through the joint order.
Shipbuilding brokers believe Capital Maritime and Eastern Pacific are paying between $115m and $116m apiece for the VLGCs/VLACs. HHI is slated to deliver the quartet in 2027.
The two owners see a bright outlook for ammonia and LPG shipping, sources in the gas market told TradeWinds.
The ammonia trade is expected to come into play from 2026 and new trading patterns will open up for VLGC business.
Ralph Leszczynski, global head of research at Banchero Costa, said ammonia is one of the fuels being considered as a replacement for coal, oil and gas as the world moves towards decarbonisation.
Ammonia can be used as fuel for ship engines but also more widely for power generation and replacing coal and LNG in the world’s future energy mix.
“It’s one of the alternatives, together with things like methanol and of course renewable energy … ammonia has been traded and transported in the past, but in limited volumes for the fertiliser industry,” Leszczynski said.
“If it is adopted more widely as a direct fuel — for ships and/or power plants — then the demand for ammonia will skyrocket.”
Shipping sources said Capital Maritime has ordered the VLACs as part of a strategy to create an energy-transition fleet.
The company has so far spent close to $6.5bn on 57 newbuildings, with delivery dates extending from 2020 into 2027.
The vessels comprise liquefied CO2 carriers, LNG carriers, LNG and ammonia-ready VLCCs and MR tankers, dual-fuel suezmaxes and LR2s and a range of LNG-ready container ships, from feeder ships up to 13,000 teu.
Eastern Pacific already has four dual-fuel large gas carriers that can carry LPG and liquefied ammonia gas, or NH3, under construction at China’s Jiangnan Shipyard. The 93,000-cbm newbuildings were ordered in May this year.
Shipbuilding sources said the Singapore company has now raised the newbuilding tally at Jiangnan by two vessels, bringing the total number of VLACs there to six.
“These two newbuildings are newly inked vessels and not option ships,” said one shipbuilding source.
The price of the two gas carriers was not disclosed, but Eastern Pacific was reported in May to be paying more than $100m each for its earlier four VLACs.
Jiangnan is scheduled to deliver the first of the six VLACs in mid-2026 and the remaining five newbuildings, including the joint order, in 2027.
