Hyundai Heavy Industries yards have added two more MR newbuildings to their orderbooks.
Shipbuilding players said Japanese company Masumoto Shipping and Singapore’s Blue Wake Shipping each signed a contract with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) to build a 50,000-dwt product tanker.
It is unclear whether the contracts involve any options.
HMD has assigned the contract to its Vietnamese sister yard, Hyundai Vinashin, which is due to deliver the ships in 2021.
A source familiar with the deals said Masumoto and Blue Wake will not install scrubbers on the newbuildings. The two companies are believed to be paying around $36m per ship.
HMD officials were unavailable for comment.
Masumoto is an existing client of the South Korean shipyard group, with two similar ships under construction at Hyundai Vinashin.
These tankers, ordered two years ago at a reported price of $32m per ship, will be constructed to IMO Tier II emissions standards and are scheduled for delivery in March and June next year.
Blue Wake is Japanese-owned but based in Singapore. It is said to be a tonnage provider, and its fleet is made up of five tankers and two bulkers.
Its website says it focuses on newbuildings and its vessels are chartered out on long-term deals. Blue Wake charterers include MOL Chemical Tankers, Bocimar, Norden, d’Amico International and K Line.
The latest orders mean HMD and its sister yard secured deals for seven MRs in recent weeks.
Evangelos Pistiolis-led Central Group booked three vessels, while Japanese shipowner Fukujin Kisen signed up for two.
Also booked through HMD, the newbuildings will be built at Hyundai Vinashin and are due for delivery in late 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.
