Maersk Tankers has boosted its LR2 newbuilding orderbook in China at the same time as it is being linked with a move for an MR in the secondhand market.
Privately owned Maersk Tankers has taken four additional slots on an order at Dalian Shipyard, it announced today.
Maersk Tankers inked six firm tankers at the yard last summer in what marked its first expansionary move since it was taken over by AP Moller-Holding and Mitsui.
The shipowner said the four options had been taken as part of a renewal of its LR2 fleet.
Soren C Meyer, chief asset officer at Maersk Tankers, said the newbuildings would help the company sustain a competitive fleet in a segment that is attractive to customers and owners alike, and to retain a strong market position.
The series will be delivered between 2020 and 2022.
Brokers believe Maersk Tankers is also renewing its medium-range fleet.
It is being named as the buyer of the 48,000-dwt Fidelity II (built 2011) from Japanese owner Sekihyo Line.
Brokers are pegging the transaction at $18.25m. A spokesperson for Maersk Tankers declined to comment on the rumours as a matter of policy.
As TradeWinds was first to reveal in April, Maersk Tankers has launched a new strategy that is targeting a sharp reduction in CO2 emissions well ahead of ambitious IMO deadlines.
A heightened use of digital technology, a more active approach to asset investments and greater collaboration to boost returns are also high on the agenda under the strategy, 'Shaping the Future', chief executive Christian M Ingerslev explained in an interview.
He said further investments in steel will come under what the company is calling “dynamic fleet”.
“It’s a realisation that I can tell you something today and in six months I can tell you something different. Because the answer is: it depends. We need to develop our fleet depending on the market environment,” he said in April.
“In certain environments we will order newbuildings; in certain environments we will buy secondhand, and in certain environments, even though we really like the new ship, we will sell it.
"So, we will become more dynamic in how we approach the buying and selling of assets.”
