The Singapore-headquartered owner has inked a contract with Jiangnan for two 84,000 cu m VLGCs with options for two more newbuilds.
The first two firm vessel are scheduled for delivery between Q2 and Q3 2019, and the two options, if taken up, later that year.
The four newbuilds would take Petredec’s fleet of VLGCs to 21. The new vessels would be compliant with new environmental regulations such as NOx Tier III, new IGC code and fitted with a US Coast Guard approved ballast water treatment system.
“VLGC’s have been through an extensive new build programme and both shipowners and charterers are getting used to today’s new market environment,” commented Giles Fearn, chief executive of Petredec.
“However, we are starting to see some consolidation within the VLGC sector, steadying Owners returns and the market expects to see accelerated scrapping of older vessels which are less efficient, don’t comply with latest environmental legislation and are facing expensive drydocks.”
The price of the newbuildings was not disclosed.
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