Denmark’s Uni-Tankers is planning to build a series of small stainless-steel chemical carriers in China. Chief executive Torben Andersen, however, denies talk that a deal is very close.

“We don’t have a newbuilding programme,” he told TradeWinds. “We have a wish to build ships but I haven’t signed anything yet. It’s not decided that we’re going to build.”

Sources in China tell TradeWinds the Danish owner is looking at a 9,900-dwt design by Shanghai-based Odely Marine. Andersen confirms that size is “about right” but says it is incorrect that the yards have been narrowed down to Ningbo Xinle Shipbuilding and Avic Dingheng Shipbuilding.

Both yards build specialised tonnage types, including small chemical carriers. But Xinle may be the hungier of the two, with a short orderbook following next month’s scheduled delivery of a chemical carrier to Spain’s Elcano. Reference sources list Avic Dingheng with an orderbook of one asphalt carrier and 16 chemical carriers stretching into 2019, mostly for Scandinavian owners.

Andersen says Uni-Tankers has been visiting several yards, including in Turkey, and none are ruled out.

“We have a fleet right now with an average age of eight years and our competitors’ fleets have an average age of 12, so we are not under pressure,” he said. “But we are doing this in order to find out what the possibilities are.”

Andersen does not comment on what price quotes he is getting but believes that in general, newbuilding prices could continue to fall in 2017. “I don’t think we have seen the bottom yet, but I can’t say for sure.”

The rapidly growing Uni-Tankers was started in 2008 with seven ships. It now owns 17 and has about twice that many chartered in for its contract and spot operations. It has never owned stainless-steel tonnage before but it has some chartered in. Nor has it built ships before, although it took over one newbuilding under construction in China as part of its 2012 acquisition of the fleet of compatriot Erria.

Of its owned fleet, only the 18,000-dwt Jutlandia Swan and Selandia Swan (both built 2008) and 15,000-dwt Fionia Swan (built 2005) are employed on time charter in the dirty petroleum products (DPP) trades. Otherwise, the owned fleet consists of coated chemical carriers of between 4,700 dwt and 11,300 dwt, all self-operated through in-house Uni-Chartering.

The company has previously grown through secondhand acquisitions, chartering in and fleet acquisitions. In 2012, it acquired the Erria chemical fleet in exchange for a 15% shareholding in Uni-Tankers, which it later bought back in stages.

But company sources say newbuildings are the way forward. Although Uni-Tankers lost money in 2014, it has been enjoying robust earnings since then. In 2015, it reported what it called “the most profitable result ever delivered by the company”, with full-year profit of DKK 80m ($12m) on revenue of DKK 1.7bn.

Middelfart-based Uni-Tankers is part of Danish tanker and bunker group United Shipping & Trading Co (USTC), controlled by Torben Ostergaard-Nielsen. Sister companies in the USTC group include breakbulk logistics and port agency company Shipping.dk and fuel supplier Dan-Bunkering.