Singapore’s Pacific Carriers Ltd (PCL) has ordered two MR tanker newbuildings to add to its growing fleet.

Better known as a bulker operator, the outfit confirmed the deal for two 50,000-dwt product carriers at K Shipbuilding in South Korea, bringing its order tally there to four.

A PCL spokesperson said the two ships were optional vessels that it has held since contracting a pair of tankers at the yard in March.

The wholly owned subsidiary of Kuok Group believes that demand for MRs will increase as the sector recovers from the pandemic.

“MR tankers transport essential cargoes such as refined petroleum products and feedstock which are required for transportation and industrial processes,” the company said.

PCL did not disclose the price, but it was reported to have paid $38.5m each for the earlier vessels.

“These are eco-friendly tankers that will meet the International Maritime Organization’s Tier III NOx standards,” a spokesperson said.

“The product tanker segment has always been important to PCL, and it is the division that the company is looking to grow.”

K Shipbuilding is scheduled to deliver two vessels in 2023 and two in 2024.

Chief executive Hor Weng Yew is believed to be the driving force behind PCL’s tanker fleet growth.

Hor, known as a “tanker man” in the shipping industry, was chief executive of AET until mid-2015, before joining PCL in 2016.

He was said to have helped PCL make a comeback in the MR tanker segment in 2017 after a brief exit. The company spent $19.2m in buying the 17,000-dwt product carrier Java Palm (built 2009) from Alma Maritime.

Pacific Carriers Limited (PCL) has been rebuilding its tanker presence since 2017 under the stewardship of chief executive Hor Weng Yew. Photo: Singapore Maritime Foundation

Today, the company owns eight MR vessels and six product carriers of between 16,900 dwt and 17,995 dwt.

Hor is said to have established long-standing relationships with oil majors, and all PCL’s eight MR tankers are employed by oil companies.

PCL said it picked K Shipbuilding — the former STX Offshore & Shipbuilding — to build the MR tanker newbuildings because the Chinhae shipyard has a good reputation for constructing the ship type.

Five of PCL’s existing 50,000-dwt MR tankers — Pelican Pacific, Petrel Pacific, Puffin Pacific, Petronia Pacific and Pratincole Pacific (all built 2020) — were constructed by STX Offshore.