Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings is branching out into the LR2 product tanker arena.
The Hing Chao-led shipping company is said to have inked a provisional tanker newbuilding contract with Hengli Heavy Industry in China in a deal worth around $280m.
The LR2 deal will be Wah Kwong’s first tanker newbuilding contract in almost a decade.
Shipbuilding sources said the shipowner is ordering four conventional aframax product tankers for around $70m each.
They said Wah Kwong inked a letter of intent with Hengli Heavy several weeks ago and believe an official contract will be signed soon.
A Wah Kwong official declined to comment when contacted by TradeWinds.
If Wah Kwong is to firm up the order for the 113,500-dwt product carriers, the deal marks the company’s entry into the LR2 segment.
One source said Wah Kwong will have no problem operating the new LR2s as it has a few aframax crude carriers on the water.
The last time it ordered tankers was at the end of 2014 and early 2015.
At that time it commissioned Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and Sumitomo Heavy Industry to build two aframaxes each.
Those orders represented a return to the medium-size crude tanker market for the Chao family-controlled private company, following a series of tanker sales.
The current order of four LR2s reflects Wah Kwong’s strategic shift towards tankers.
According to VesselsValue, Wah Kwong ordered four ultramax bulk carriers at New Dayang Shipbuilding this year and the same number of ships in 2021 at the same shipyard.
On top of that, it co-ordered four 175,000-cbm LNG carriers with Chinese leasing company CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping and China Gas Holdings under a joint company called Sea Jade Investment.
The LNG carriers were booked against 20-year charters from China Gas Holdings subsidiary China City Gas.
They are being built by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co. The CSSC-controlled shipyard is slated to deliver two vessels in 2027 and two in 2028.
Wah Kwong currently owns a fleet of 23 ships comprising two VLCCs, four aframax crude tankers, three capesize bulk carriers and 14 supramax to ultramax bulkers.
In the past few years, Wah Kwong has evolved from a traditional shipowner into an integrated shipping group, with interests in ship management and ship operations.
