Idan Ofer-controlled Eastern Pacific Shipping has ordered two MRs in its first deal at Dae Sun Shipbuilding & Engineering in South Korea.
The pair of 50,000-dwt product tankers will be delivered by the end 2021.
The deal includes two options which Eastern Pacific has been given until the end May to exercise.
Conventional fuelling
Eastern Pacific, which believes LNG is the shipping fuel of the future, has opted to build conventional MR tankers.
“Eastern Pacific is committed to LNG-fuel but for smaller vessels such as MR tankers that trade on shorter routes, it makes sense to order conventional ships,” a shipping source familiar with the company said.
“Capital expenditure for dual-fuelled vessels is still very expensive. In addition to that, the price of low-sulphur fuel oil is stabilising.”
Eastern Pacific is said to be paying between $33m and $34m for the scrubber-free IMO Tier II emissions standards tankers.
Wilmar order
Officials at Eastern Pacific and Dae Sun decline to comment when contacted.
This is the second contract the South Korean yard has landed this year.
Last month, vegetable oil trader Wilmar International also signed up for two-plus-two MR tankers for delivery in mid-2021.
“Wilmar and Eastern Pacific have ordered similar type of tankers and the price they are paying is also the same,” one shipbuilding player said.
Based in Singapore, Wilmar is said to be the world’s largest vegetable oil trader. The company is backed by Malaysia’s richest man, Robert Kuok.
With the newbuildings order at Dae Sun, Eastern Pacific is not going ahead with the dual-fuelled MR newbuildings it was reported to have signed at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD.
In October, Eastern Pacific signed a letter of intent (LOI) with HMD to construct up to four 50,000-dwt LNG-fuelled product carriers for delivery in late 2021.
On the larger tanker segment, Eastern Pacific is in talks for a pair of conventional 158,000-dwt crude oil tankers at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. The discussions are described as at an advanced stage.
Eastern Pacific has been actively expanding its fleet in the past two years. The company is estimated to have spent more than $3bn on newbuildings.
It is thought to have about 40 newbuildings booked at yards in South Korea, China and Japan. Most are dual-fuelled vessels.
