Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) has won a tender to build two 49,700-dwt product tankers for Nanjing Tanker, part of China Merchants Group.
The yard, a subsidiary of CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (COMEC), submitted the best bid for the open tender Nanjing Tanker issued on the China Merchants e-platform, according to a tender official.
The bid level was not disclosed. Nanjing Tanker is expected to sign the formal deal this month and the vessels will take two years to construct.
The newbuilding price for such a vessel was assessed by Clarksons at $36.5m as of last Friday.
COMEC, a China State Shipbuilding Corp unit listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong, holds one of the world’s largest orderbooks for product tankers.
Having been delisted in Shanghai in 2014 after years of losses, Nanjing Tanker has been improving its profitability and balance sheet via a series of business reorganisation measures.
In November, the company received regulatory approval to be relisted in Shanghai, and the whole relisting process was expected to take three months.
Nanjing Tanker posted net profits of CNY 220.5m ($32.2m) on revenue of CNY 2.49bn in the first nine months of 2018.
In the most recent three financial years, the value of its net assets has been positive.
According to the company, Nanjing Tanker is the world’s fourth largest product tanker owner in international trades and the second largest domestic crude shipping company in China.
As of early November, Nanjing Tanker owned a fleet of 68 tankers totalling 2.21 million dwt, including 67 on the water and one on order.
