Hainan-based bulker company Yangpu Zhongxin Shipping is diversifying into the tanker sector with orders for two medium-range (MR) product tankers at Jiangsu Dayang Offshore Equipment Co.
The order, which sees the Nanjing-based shipbuilder make its debut in the MR tanker sector, calls for the pair of 50,000-dwt newbuildings to be delivered between the end of 2026 and the first half of 2027.
Established in 2021, Yangpu Zhongxin currently has a fleet of three post-panamax bulk carriers that average out at 14 years, and one newly-built 19,000-dwt heavy deck cargo ship, according to Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network.
Little is known about the shipowner outside of China, but its vessels are said to be trading in the international market.
The company is said to have ordered the MR tankers to expand its fleet portfolio and diversify its risk beyond bulk.
Exactly how much Yangpu Zhongxin is paying for the pair has yet to emerge, but shipbuilding brokers suggested they would cost between $44m and $45m per ship.
The design of the MR tankers is said to have been developed by the Marine Design & Research Institute of China (Maric).
Dayang Offshore is a subsidiary of the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) and is not related to the better known New Dayang Shipbuilding, .
Equipped with two slipways and an outfitting wharf that is capable of berthing 50,000-dwt vessels, the shipyard first started building ships in 2007 and has so far delivered bunker tankers, bitumen carriers, small LPG carriers, two 13,000-dwt chemical tankers, together with general cargo ships of less than 10,000-dwt.
Its clients are said to come from China, Europe and South Korea.
Dayang Offshore Equipment is one of an increasing number of shipyards in China that have broken into the MR tanker segment over the past two years.
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard, Wuhu Shipyard, Penglai Zhongbai Jinglu Ship Industry, Lianyungang Wuzhou Shipbuilding, and Huanghai Shipbuilding have all received their first MR tanker orders during this period
Last month, Sino-Japanese shipbuilder Dalian Cosco KHI Ship Engineering (Dacks) made its debut in the segment after securing an order for two MRs from Taiping & Sinopec Financial Leasing (TSFL).
These vessels, which are believed to have been priced in the region of $45m, will transport Sinopec Group’s refined oil once delivered in 2027.
Asked why so many yards are taking on MR tanker orders, one shipbuilding source said Chinese shipbuilders need to expand their product portfolio to be competitive in the shipbuilding industry. “They need to be flexible in order to meet market demand,” the source said.
