To speed up fleet renewal, Greek shipping company Pleiades Shipping is ordering new vessels from China.
Pleiades Shipping has signed a contract with New Times Shipbuilding for the construction of 2+2 73,000 dwt LR1 product tankers at a price of about US$55 million each, with a total value of the first two vessels of about US$110 million.
If the option order takes effect, the total value of the 4 new vessels will be around US$220 million. The new vessels will run on conventional marine fuels, with the first two scheduled for delivery in 2027 and the option vessels expected to be delivered in 2028.
It is understood that Pleiades Shipping has been established for at least 50 years, previously only placed orders with Korean and Japanese shipbuilders. According to the fleet list on Pleiades Shipping’s official website, the company currently owns a fleet of 11 tankers, all of which are built by South Korean and Japanese shipbuilders, all of which are under the Liberian flag, with delivery dates between 2005 and 2023. If the order placed in New Times Shipbuilding is confirmed, it will be the first time the owner has ordered new vessels from China.
It is worth noting that this is another order for LR1 product tankers undertook by New Times Shipbuilding after a few months. In July news this year, another Greek shipping company Tsakos Energy Navigation placed an order with New Times Shipbuilding for 2+2 75,000 dwt LR1 product tankers at the same price of about $55 million each. The new vessels are equipped with desulfurization towers and are expected to be delivered between 2027 and 2028.
In recent times, almost all order news got by New Times Shipbuilding has been related to liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel powered containerships, with deliveries lined up until 2028. These include Capital Maritime’s 10 8,400 TEU containerships, SFL Corporation’s five 16,800 TEU containerships, East Pacific Line’s 12 18,000 TEU containerships and 4+3 8,400 TEU containerships, Seaspan Corporation’s five 16,800 TEU containerships, and Hapag-Lloyd’s 10+5 9,200 TEU LNG dual-fuel containerships.