Mitsui OSK Lines has splashed out close to $300m on VLCC newbuildings at a shipbuilder in China.
The Japanese shipping giant has returned to Dalian Cosco KHI Ship Engineering (Dacks) for two LNG dual-fuelled 309,000-dwt crude carriers, according to shipbuilding sources.
The deal brings MOL’s total LNG dual-fuelled VLCC newbuildings at the Sino-Japanese yard to six. The previous four were ordered in 2022 and 2023.
Sources said MOL is paying just below $150m per ship.
The price is about 15% more than the company’s earlier quartet, which was said to cost about $130m per ship.
Dack officials were unavailable for comment as China is closed for the Golden Week holiday celebrations. MOL said it was unable to comment.
MOL’s latest newbuildings are the priciest VLCCs ordered in the past three years if price estimates are correct.
However, a tanker expert noted that, when considering historical pricing and design factors, these VLCCs will not rank as the most expensive.
He said the most expensive VLCC was a conventionally fuelled vessel ordered in 2008 for about $150m.
“When comparing with historical prices, you need to consider the price for the basic design as LNG dual-fuelled is a new concept,” said the tanker expert.
He puts the current market price for a basic new VLCC at about $130m, with the extra capital expenditure required to fit LNG dual-fuel engines to be about $20m, bringing the price up to about $150m.
Dacks — owned by Kawasaki Heavy Industries and China Cosco Shipping — is scheduled to deliver MOL’s latest VLCCs between the third quarter of 2027 and the first quarter of 2028.
According to Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network, Dacks will hand over the first of the company’s four earlier newbuildings in November 2025, with the remaining ships set for March, July and December 2026.
Orders for VLCCs only started picking up last year, when 19 were ordered. A total of 50 have been contracted this year including MOL’s latest pair.
The surge in orders is reportedly driven by the need to replace an ageing fleet and growing optimism about a stronger market.
Clarksons states that the orderbook for VLCCs stands at 72, of which 14 are LNG dual-fuelled ships, with one to be powered by methanol and the rest running on conventional marine fuel.
New Times Shipbuilding is constructing eight LNG dual-fuel VLCCs — six for Evangelos Marinakis’ Capital Maritime & Trading Corp and two for Tor Olav Troim’s Magni Partners. China Merchants Energy Shipping is building one methanol dual-fuel tanker at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co.
Other companies that have VLCC newbuildings on order include Trafigura, DHT Holdings, Seatankers Management, Ray Car Carriers, NYK, Euronav (renamed CMB.Tech), Asyad Shipping and Dynacom Tankers.
