Doun Kisen of Japan has inked a pair of ultramax bulkers at Chinese shipyard Nantong Xiangyu Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering.
Shipbuilding sources said the low-profile shipowner has ordered the Sdari-designed, 63,500-dwt vessels at the state-owned yard, bringing its newbuild tally there to six.
They added that the orders were optional units that Doun held after signing up for a pair of newbuildings at the yard in July.
Built to IMO Tier II NOx emissions standards, the ships are said to have cost Doun around $25m each. They are slated for delivery in 2020.
Besides the ultramaxes, Doun has also ordered a pair of 82,000-dwt bulkers at Nantong Xiangyu. It ordered the duo three months ago at a reported price of about $27m apiece.
The duo will be built to Tier II emissions standards, with delivery in the first-half of 2020.
Officials at Nantong Xiangyu declined to comment, citing contract confidentiality.
Doun did not reply to TradeWinds’ email enquiries.
2020 delivery slots
Doun is said to have turned to shipyards in China, rather than Japan, to take advantage of lower prices and earlier delivery slots.
Japanese yards are said only to be offering 2021 delivery slots, and are only contracting Tier III-compliant vessels at a premium of $2m to $3m per vessel.
A tonnage supplier, Ehime-based Doun is one of Japan’s largest private shipowning outfits with about 120 trading vessels.
Its fleet primarily comprises domestically built ships. Bulkers make up the lion’s share of the fleet, but Doun is also listed with VLOCs, aframax tankers, containerships, reefers, gas carriers and chemical tankers.
Most of its vessels are chartered out to domestic shipping companies, such as NYK Line, MOL, K Line and Daiichi Chuo Kisen Kaisha. It also charters out ships to foreign operators.
VesselsValue lists Doun as having a 182,000-dwt bulker and three 13,870-teu boxships under construction at Imabari Shipbuilding for delivery in 2019, as well as four 38,500-dwt chemical tankers on order at Kitanihon Zosen for delivery this year and 2019.
The company is also due to take delivery of one handysize bulker from Shin Kurushima Dockyard.
Nantong Xiangyu is a relatively new Chinese shipyard, established early last year. A state-owned company, it was formed when Xiangyu Group took over the collapsed Nantong Mingde Heavy Industry at the end of 2016.
