The privately owned Scorpio Group of Monaco has entered into an agreement with affiliates of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding to technically and commercially manage two MR newbuildings to be delivered from the yard in 2025.
A Scorpio official confirmed the arrangement in response to a question from TradeWinds this week but took pains to clarify that the order has nothing to do with well-known public shipowner Scorpio Tankers.
“Scorpio Tankers has no interest in ordering any newbuildings. There are no live enquiries with any shipyard,” said Scorpio chief operating officer Cameron Mackey.
“[Private] Scorpio Services, to the extent that it identifies respectable owners who are ordering newbuildings, would rather have those vessels under their technical and commercial management than not.”
Scorpio Services has an agreement to provide oversight services during the construction of the 50,000-dwt pair and has agreed to take, what Mackey characterised as, a tiny ownership stake.
The ships are expected to operate in privately run Scorpio pools upon delivery.
Executives of New York-listed Scorpio Tankers, one of the world’s largest owners of product tonnage, made clear on a recent earnings call that they are focusing heavily on deleveraging its balance sheet and share buybacks, but have no interest in vessel acquisitions at this point in the market cycle.
Yangzijiang has a shipping arm in Singapore called Yangzijiang Shipping. Online database IHS Markit lists the company with 26 vessels on the water.
The diversified fleet includes one suezmax tanker — the 156,245-dwt Auram (built 2020) — 17 bulk carriers, two container ships, five general cargo vessels, one MR tanker and one small chemical carrier.
Yangzijiang Shipping was established in 2012 during a downturn in the shipbuilding market to generate orders for the shipbuilding arm so that it could steer away from loss-making deals.
Shipbuilding sources said Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding — a joint venture yard between Yangzijiang and Japan’s Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding — will be constructing the MR tankers.
Including these two newbuildings, the Jiangsu-based shipyard has a total of 12 MR tankers on its orderbook. It is constructing six vessels for Evalend Shipping of Greece and four for Indian-owned but Singapore-based Jaldhi Overseas.
