Belgium’s Euronav has diversified into product tanker shipping with an order for two low-carbon bitumen carriers.
The New York and Brussels-listed owner, controlled by the Saverys family, said the 17,000-dwt vessels are more than twice the size of the average ship in a world fleet of 230 units.
The tankers will have dual-fuel green methanol engines and be prepared to be retrofitted to run on ammonia.
The VLCC and suezmax specialist will take delivery from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Yangzhou) Dingheng in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The ships will be chartered to an unnamed “strong counterparty” for 10 years at that point.
No price has been revealed.
Euronav is merging with the family’s clean shipping operation CMB.TECH, which will see the fleet expand with bulkers, container ships and offshore vessels.
The companies have previously said they will power the fleet with ammonia and hydrogen.
The average age of the bitumen fleet worldwide is 15 years, the owner added.
The vessels mainly carry asphalt at a temperature of 250 degrees.
Charter backlog nears $2bn
With the addition of the two charters, Euronav’s total contract backlog amounts to $1.975bn.
Chief executive Alexander Saverys said: “With the new orders for two state-of-the-art and green newbuilding bitumen tankers, we continue to execute our strategy of diversification and decarbonisation of our fleet.”
“In recent months, we have secured a total of 55 years of time charter cover thanks to the great support of top-class companies. This proves that our customers are ready to partner up with Euronav and CMB.TECH to develop future-proof solutions for the shipping industry,” he added.
The CEO pledged to continue to develop innovative low-carbon solutions for customers and accelerate investments in the maritime energy transition.
“Decarbonise today, navigate tomorrow,” he concluded.
Earlier this month, the two companies announced the construction of the world’s first ammonia-fuelled container ship in partnership with North Sea Container Line and Yara International.
The 1,400-teu ice-class unit, to be named the Yara Eyde, will be built at Qingdao Yangfan Shipbuilding.
It is scheduled for delivery in mid-2026, when it will run on clean ammonia, serving routes between Norway and Germany.
Euronav also has four VLCCs and four suezmaxes on order.
