Singapore-listed Yangzijiang Shipbuilding is said to have raked in the contract for two 50,000-dwt product tankers that Greek shipping company Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) revealed it had placed last week.
Shipbuilding sources following the shipyard’s activities said TEN had contracted the vessels to be delivered in the first quarter of 2026 at a price of morte than $43m apiece.
Last week, the US-listed Greek shipowning company disclosed that it had ordered two scrubber-fitted MR tankers without naming the yard, saying their employment was “under discussion”.
Yangzijiang is better known as a bulker and boxship specialist but started marketing MR tankers last autumn. It landed its first deal for two vessels from Greek owner Evalend Shipping, which has since raised its tally of MRs there to six.
According to Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network (SIN), Yangzijiang has contracted a total of 22 MR tankers in the past 10 months, which includes TEN’s order.
Singapore’s Jaldhi Overseas, Scorpio Group, Yasa Shipping and Stamford Shipping have all ordered 50,000-dwt product carriers at the yard.
SIN shows a tally of 77 MR tankers ordered so far this year compared with 53 vessels last year. The total on-order total for the ship type stands at 140.
The surge in MR tanker orders is said to be driven by an ageing global fleet and an improvement in tanker earnings, as a result of the sanctions on Russian crude oil and refined petroleum products.
Banchero Costa data shows the orderbook for MR tankers stands at 7% of the trading fleet, with 10% of the fleet more than 20 years old and 25% between 15 and 19 years old, which indicates it is ripe for renewal.
Yangzijiang is China’s largest privately owned shipyard.
Clean vessel orders
Last month, it reported a 47% year-on-year increase in its first-half performance. The company booked a net profit of CNY 1.7bn ($240m) against the CNY 1.17bn achieved 12 months earlier.
Yangzijiang secured 72 newbuildings worth $5.76bn in the first half of 2023, taking its order backlog to 181 vessels worth $14.70bn.
The shipyard said clean energy vessel orders have experienced a significant increase, and now represent 56% of the total contract value, compared with the 23% recorded 12 months ago.
