As its first batch of tanker newbuildings hits the water this year, Helikon Shipping Enterprises raises its bet on the sector with a fresh order for two MRs at Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding.
Helikon general manager Michael Papaioannou confirmed the order for the two ships, which are listed on the S&P Global’s International Ships Register with Hull Nos S545 and S546 and are due for delivery in the first half of 2025.
Helikon was established in London in 1961. For four decades, the company was active as agent for owners and operators of secondhand bulk carriers employed in tramp trades.
In 2001, it switched its focus on the management of bulker newbuildings operating on long-term employment with reputable charterers.
Helikon embarked on the next stage in its development between October 2020 and June 2021, when the company branched out into tankers, placing four newbuilding orders for 50,000-dwt MR ships at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD).
Ordered timely when tanker markets were still in the doldrums, the four vessels were eventually brought into H4 — a joint venture between Helikon and Danish investors Dee4 Capital Partners.
The joint venture was subsequently widened to include a fifth a fifth MR newbuilding purchased as a resale from France’s Societe d’Armement et de Transport (Socatra).
Of these five tankers, four hit the water between January and April 2022 and the fifth is due for delivery in a few weeks.
Seventh generation
Helikon's latest newbuilding pair is a fresh order booked outside the cooperation with Dee4 Capital — at least for the moment.
“The vessels were independently ordered and are not part of the Dee4 Capital joint venture at this early stage,” Papaioannou said.
The manager declined to say how much the MRs cost and whether there are any more optional vessels attached to them.
Market sources put the price at $42.5m apiece, which would be in line with recent comparable ships inked at Hyundai Vietnam, which is a sistership yard of HMD.
According to Papaioannou, the two ships ordered by Helikon are Hyundai’s latest seventh-generation MR tankers, designed to comply with the International Maritime Organization’s Tier III NOx standards and the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase 3.
The vessels will be conventionally fuelled.
According to market analysts citing a Hyundai presentation, the South Korean shipyard has designed its seventh-generation ships to achieve a consumption of 19 tons of fuel per day in its main engine, with a rudder bulb.
Irene Ang contributed to this article
