Union Maritime is said to have ordered up to eight 18,500-dwt product/chemical tanker newbuildings at Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding.
Shipbuilding sources said the low-profile UK-based company has contracted the Chinese shipyard for four firm tankers built to the International Maritime Organization’s Tier II standards to be delivered in 2025. The deal includes an option for four additional vessels.
The newbuildings are said to be conventionally powered but methanol-ready. The company is believed to be paying at least $30m per ship.
Officials at Mawei declined to comment on the yard’s newbuilding activities, citing contract confidentiality. Union Maritime did not reply to emails seeking confirmation.
Union Maritime is the second company to have ordered the ship type.
Last week, the Kyriakou family-controlled Athenian Tankers of Greece, which is known as a VLCC owner, ordered four 18,500-dwt newbuildings at Wuchang Shipbuilding — a state-owned yard that is under the control of China State Shipbuilding Corp.
Athenian is scheduled to take delivery of the quartet in 2025. The company was reported to be paying about $30m apiece for the conventionally fuelled vessels.
Shipbuilding sources expect a few more newbuilding contracts for this ship type to be signed over the next few weeks.
They said the interest in the IMO’s Tier II standards for chemical tanker newbuildings is driven by demand from oil majors looking to charter the ships.
The new chemical tankers of this range are needed because much of the existing fleet, ordered in the mid-2000s, does not meet the lowest Carbon Intensity Indicator ratings and will not comply with the Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index.
“Some companies are rushing to order the tankers before shipyards run out of slots,” said one newbuilding broker. “The charter rate for the ship is also good and shipping companies are using the profits they made by reinvesting on newbuildings.”
Union Maritime was founded in 2006 by Laurent Cadji, a former Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley oil trader. The last time it ordered newbuildings was in 2020, when it contracted South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard to build one LPG carrier at a reported price of $48m.
The 40,000-cbm Green Power (built 2023) was delivered in January. VesselsValue puts its market value at $67.17m. The vessel is registered under Purus Marine.
Shipbuilding sources said Union Maritime is one of the several companies to have signed a letter of intent for tanker newbuildings at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding.
It was reported to have made a provisional booking for two 114,000-dwt aframax product carriers worth more than $50m per ship.
Union Maritime is an owner and operator. It has a diversified fleet of 66 vessels comprising 43 product carriers, four crude oil tankers, 17 bulk carriers and two offshore vessels.
