After a spate of tanker orders at Hyundai yards in recent years, Kyklades Maritime is in advanced talks in China to book its next batch of newbuildings.
According to market sources in Europe and the Far East, the private side of the Alafouzos family’s shipping interests has signed a letter of intent for 115,000-dwt ice-class LR2 tankers at Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry Yangzhou Shipyard (Cosco HI Yangzhou).
The order is said to be for either two or three vessels with scrubbers installed for delivery in 2025. The price is said to be $61.5m each.
Officials at Cosco HI Yangzhou and Kyklades were unavailable for comment.
Both Kyklades and Okeanis Eco Tankers, the Alafouzos family’s public tanker company, have almost exclusively relied on Hyundai yards for their newbuildings.
Between 2019 and 2022, the two companies took delivery of six suezmax and eight VLCC newbuildings from Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.
Kyklades is not the only Greek company that Cosco HI Yangzhou has been courting lately.
TradeWinds reported last month that George Economou had contracted three 115,000-dwt product carriers there.
Economou’s TMS Tankers was said at the time to be spending less than $60m per ship for the conventional marine-fuelled vessels, which will be equipped with scrubbers and are due for delivery in 2025.
Other Chinese yards have been snapping up LR2 newbuilding business from Greece as well.
Greek orders
TradeWinds reported in December that New Times Shipbuilding had secured two such newbuildings from Evangelos Marinakis’ Capital Ship Management.
Other sources at the time said that John Dragnis-led Oceangold was in talks with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding for two LR2 tankers as well, due for delivery in the second half of 2025, for more than $60m each.
US-listed Navios Maritime Partners, by contrast, has turned to South Korea for its 115,000-dwt newbuildings. The company is known to have a programme for six aframaxes/LR2s at K Shipbuilding due for delivery in 2024 and 2025.
The company announced in November last year that it had paid $64.7m for the latest two of these newbuildings, including $4.2m per ship for additional features and improvements.
Irene Ang contributed to this article
