SP Chemicals has returned to Yangzijiang Shipbuilding for more very large ethane carriers.
The refinery owner turned shipowner has ordered two 99,000-cbm newbuildings, according to brokers.
The deal brings the total number of VLECs that it has ordered at the Chinese shipyard to five. The earlier trio was ordered in May.
Officials at Yangzijiang declined to comment, citing contract confidentiality. SP Chemicals was unavailable for comment.
The price for the latest pair has yet to emerge, but the earlier three ethane carriers were reported to cost less than $160m each.
The design of the type-B tank vessel was developed by the Marine Design & Research Institute of China.
Yangzijiang is scheduled to deliver the quintet in 2026 and 2027.
Headquartered in Singapore, SP Chemicals was incorporated in the city-state in 1990.
It started a chemical business in Taixing, China, in 1995 with an initial capital investment of $29.5m.
SP Chemicals, also known as Singpu Chemicals, imports its ethane from the US and has a gas cracker plant in Taixing with a production capacity of 650,000 tonnes per annum of ethylene.
It produces ethylene, propylene, styrene, vinyl chloride monomer, caustic soda, chlorine, hydrogen and other chemical raw materials.
SP Chemicals is set to begin operations of a new ethylene-based polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant in Jiangsu, China this year.
The plant will be able to produce 400,000 tonnes of vinyl chloride monomer per year and 500,000 tonnes of PVC.
The new facility will operate alongside the company’s existing plants.
SP Chemicals is so far the only company to have ordered VLECs at Yangzijiang.
The Singapore-listed shipyard has secured $11.64bn worth of newbuildings this year, exceeding its $4.5bn target.
It said strong demand for dual-fuel container ships, oil tankers and gas carriers has enabled it to secure 98 newbuildings.
Boxships make up 55% of the total, followed by 21 tankers, 16 gas carriers and seven bulkers.
It has built up an order backlog of 224 newbuildings worth $22.14bn, with green vessels accounting for about 75% of the total value.
