The refinery owner turned shipowner SP Chemicals has returned to Yangzijiang Shipbuilding for more very large ethane carriers (VLECs), according to Trade Winds.
SP Chemicals has ordered two 99,000 cbm newbuildings, according to brokers. The deal brings the total number of VLECs that it has ordered at the Chinese shipyard to five.
The price of the new buildings was not announced, but according to previous orders, the cost of a single VLEC does not exceed 160 million dollars, if calculated in this way, the total value of this new order is about $320 million.
In May this year, it was reported that SP Chemicals ordered three 99,000 cbm VLECs from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, marking the China’s largest privately shipbuilder’s successful development of the VLEC construction market. The new VLECs are expected to be delivered between 2027 and 2028.
The VLECs are designed by Marine Design & Research Institute of China (MARIC) using a type-B liquid cargo tank solution, shipbuilding industry sources said.
According to the official website, SP Chemicals was founded in 1995 and currently produces ethylene, propylene, styrene, vinyl chloride monomer, caustic soda, chlorine gas, hydrogen and other chemical raw materials.