Stolt Tankers has taken delivery of the first of a series of six chemical tanker newbuildings chartered from Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB).
The 26,000-dwt Bochem Houston (built 2023) is one of six newbuildings ordered from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard by the Belgian shipowner in late 2021.
Stolt Tankers said it reached an agreement with Bochem — CMB’s chemical tanker division — in June this year for the long-term time charter and pooling of the six ships.
“This agreement is an excellent opportunity to further solidify our relationship with CMB and Bochem,” Stolt Tankers president Lucas Vos said.
“As well as securing attractively priced tonnage in a firm chemical tanker market, these modern, fuel-efficient ships will help to lower the age profile and carbon intensity of our fleet while offering customers more flexibility as they can trade in any of our deepsea routes.
“With the option for these ships to be retrofitted for ammonia propulsion, the agreement also supports Stolt Tankers’ commitment to reducing its emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to 2008 levels.”
Stolt Tankers said the remaining five ships are expected to enter service in 2023 and 2024. Financial terms were not disclosed.
TradeWinds first reported the order by CMB in November 2021 in a move that was later confirmed by chief commercial officer Benoit Timmermans.
The vessels are said to comply with Phase 3 of the International Maritime Organization’s Energy Efficiency Design Index and Tier III NOx emissions standards.
Industry sources told TradeWinds that CMB had originally ordered 19,000-dwt capacity vessels, but opted to upgrade them to 23,000 dwt.
The newbuildings are believed to be the first stainless-steel chemical contract that Saverys-family run CMB has inked with a Chinese shipyard.
The shipowner previously had its vessels built in Japan, but Timmermans said the Chinese yard had a good track record building specialised tankers.
