Greek shipowner Samos Steamship has announced a series of newbuilding investment plans, and has placed orders with four Japanese shipyards for three types of four new vessels, including one 300,000 dwt Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), one 115,000 dwt Aframax tanker, and two 82,000 dwt bulk carriers, with a total order value of $341 million (about CNY 2.455 billion yuan).
The 300,000 dwt VLCC is being built by Japan Marine United (JMU) and is expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2025, according to information on the Samos Steamship website. The 115,000 dwt Aframax tanker is being built by Sumitomo Heavy Industries and is expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2025. While Sanoyas Shipbuilding and Oshima Shipbuilding have each been awarded one 82,000 dwt Kamsarmax bulk carrier which to be delivered in the first quarter of 2025 and the fourth quarter of 2025, respectively.
Back in August 2022, Samos Steamship has ordered one 115,000 dwt Aframax tanker from Sumitomo Heavy Industries, scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of this year.
Notably, Sumitomo Heavy Industries announced on its official website on February 14 that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sumitomo Heavy Industries Marine Engineering, will stop undertaking new orders for merchant ships from 2024 onwards, and will withdraw from the new shipbuilding market.
The announcement disclosed that the company will manufacture seven vessels with a backlog of orders as of the end of FY23 and withdraw from the company. The final delivery is scheduled for January 26. The repair business of the U.S. military’s transport fleet vessels and after-sales services for ships built so far will continue.
The latest order from Sumitomo Heavy Industries is understood to have been signed on November 1, 2023, but owner information has not yet been released. At present, it is not clear whether the 115,000 dwt Aframax tankers ordered by Samos Steamship are included in Sumitomo Heavy Industries’ existing hand-held order book.
Sumitomo’s shipbuilding business traces its roots back to 1879 with the establishment of Uraga Senkyo Corporation. Sumitomo Heavy Industries Marine & Engineering was spun off from Sumitomo Heavy Industries in 2003. The yard has built more than 100 aframaxes.