Bremen-based German Tanker Shipping has returned to China’s Xiamen Shipbuilding for two more MR tanker newbuildings.
The deal lifts its orderbook of 46,000-dwt chemical and product tanker newbuildings at the yard to six.
The shipowner has added the duo to its orderbook by exercising options that it held that the Chinese shipyard when it signed an earlier deal for four newbuildings last year.
German Tanker confirmed the the latest pair of MR1 tanker newbuildings on its website, saying it is decarbonising and rejuvenating its fleet.
The company said steel cutting for its first newbuilding has started. The outfit expects to take delivery of the tanker within the third quarter of 2025.
Xiamen Shipbuilding is scheduled to deliver the remaining five newbuildings every four months until the end of 2026.
German Tanker said the 46,000-dwt tankers, which comply with the International Maritime Organization’s type 2 and 3 chemical-handling standards, will be built to comply with expected future environmental regulations.
“The innovative design, including the patented F-bow shape, is based on a 41,000-dwt design and we are enormously proud of the input and ‘know-how’ we could contribute based on several decades of commercial tanker shipping,” German Tanker said.
“Our partner FKAB also contributed with all their knowledge and experience, which teamed up very successfully.”
German Tanker did not disclose the price for the newbuildings, but shipbuilding players said the company is paying close to $60m each.
They said the company’s newbuildings are of high specifications, and they comply with ice-class standards.
German Tanker was founded in 1998 and has 14 tankers — all of which were built in Germany. The fleet includes four modern product tankers. Nine are German-flagged, and the rest sail under the Seychelles flag.
The company’s website does not state its founder or shareholders. But one tanker player said the outfit is linked to Hartmann Group.
German Tanker is said to be specialising in the handysize product tanker segment and its fleet is sailing in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
