Greek owner Evalend Shipping has doubled an order for handysize product carriers with a return to its favoured Chinese shipyard.
The Kriton Lendoudis-backed company is said to have commissioned Yangzijiang Shipbuilding to build four 39,000-dwt vessels for delivery between 2027 and 2028.
Shipbuilding sources said Evalend was behind the four MR1 tankers that Yangzijiang announced on Monday.
The Singapore-listed shipyard disclosed it has secured 21 newbuildings, including container ships, MR tankers and bulk carriers. However, it did not name the buyers.
Evalend’s latest tanker play at Yangzijiang brings the tally of MR1 newbuildings in its orderbook to eight.
Its four other tankers are under construction at HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. It ordered them in July for a reported price of about $48.3m each.
The deal marked Evalend’s debut in the MR1 segment. HD Mipo is scheduled to deliver the 37,000-dwt quartet in the first half of 2026.
Officials at Yangzijiang declined to comment on the yard’s newbuilding activities, citing contract confidentiality. Evalend was reached for comment.
The price of the latest handysize product tanker play at Yangzijiang has not been disclosed but brokers suggested it will cost around $43m per ship.
Evalend is an existing client of the Jiangsu shipyard. It has 10 LR1 and five 50,000-dwt product carriers under construction there.
It ordered the series of 75,000-dwt and MR tankers between the end of 2022 and June this year.
Evalend took delivery of the first MR, the 50,500-dwt Cape Andiamo (built 2024), two months ago and is due to take delivery of the second this month and the remaining four ships next year.
Yangzijiang is scheduled to hand over two LR1s in the second half of next year and the remaining eight between 2026 and 2027.
Evalend is believed to be paying more than $40m each for the MR tankers and between $53m and $55m apiece for the 75,000-dwt product carriers.
In September, Evalend was reported to be tapping the resale newbuilding market for VLCCs.
It was said to be in close talks with Hengli Heavy Industries to acquire two scrubber-fitted crude carriers for between $125m and $127m each.
Brokers said the shipowner did not buy the 306,000-dwt VLCC newbuildings. The reason for dropping the deal was not disclosed.
Hengli was looking to flip the duo as they were part of a four-ship order booked by parent company Hengli Group.
Evalend is estimated to have spent more than $1bn in ordering tanker newbuildings since the end of 2022.
Besides the series of product carriers at Yangzijiang, it contracted Hyundai yards to build two conventionally fuelled suezmax tankers and the series of 37,000-dwt product carriers.
Evalend also has six 174,000-cbm LNG carriers and six VLGCs/very large ammonia carriers on order at Hyundai yards.
On the bulker side, the company took delivery of four open-hatch 40,000-dwt vessels — Harmony, Appia, Bullitt and Astura — from Yangzijiang this year.
It ordered them in early 2023 for a reported price of around $30m each.
