Norwegian shipowner John Fredriksen returned to the Newcastlemax bulk carrier market and placed his first newbuilding order with Qingdao Yangfan within six years.
Seatankers Management, the family holding company of John Fredriksen, has signed a contract with Qingdao Yangfan Shipbuilding for the construction of four 210,000 dwt Newcastlemax bulk carriers, according to industry sources.
The new bulk carriers, which will be conventionally fueled and equipped with desulfurization units, will be built at a cost of approximately $68 million per unit, with a total order value of approximately $272 million, and are expected to be delivered in 2027 and 2028.
This is the first large bulk carrier order after Qingdao Yangfan’s bankruptcy reorganization.
Seatankers Management’s last order for Newcastlemax bulk carriers dates back to 2018, when it placed orders for a total of 10 newbuildings from New Times Shipbuilding (6) and Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry (4). Due to the shipbuilding recession at that time, the cost of this series of Newcastlemax bulk carriers was only $45 million. In contrast, new shipbuildings ordered by Seatankers Management after a six-year hiatus are up $23 million per unit.
Seatankers Management’s wave of new vessel orders begins in 2024. According to a previous announcement by China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), Seatankers Management has signed a contract with Dalian Shipbuilding for 6+2 300,000 dwt conventional-fueled Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), the new VLCCs will be equipped with desulphurization devices, and are expected to be delivered starting in 2026, with a unit cost of approximately $116 million.
Seatankers Management’s order for Newcastlemax bulk carriers is understood to be Qingdao Yangfan’s second public order for new vessels this year. On February 14, ammonia producer/owner Yara Clean Ammonia, Norwegian container operator NorthSea Container Line, and Yara International, in cooperation with CMB.TECH, ordered from Qingdao Yangfan for the world’s first pure ammonia-fueled 1,400 TEU ice-class container ship–the Yara Eyde.
Yara Eyde, which will be equipped with a 250kWh battery pack and shore power system, has been awarded approximately NOK 40 million (US$3.6 million) in project implementation funding from Enova, a Norwegian government enterprise, and is expected to be delivered in mid-2026, when it will become the world’s first ammonia-powered container ship.
