Capital Maritime has already ordered six of the crude carriers at the Dalian-based shipyard
Greek shipowner Evangelos Marinakis has placed a potential $1.4bn VLCC newbuilding wager amid strong rates for the ship type.
Marinakis’ privately-owned Capital Maritime & Trading has struck a deal with China’s Hengli Heavy Industry for 11 VLCCs.
Hengli’s parent company, Songfa Ceramics, revealed Capital’s huge tanker order in a disclosure to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
It puts the vessel price at between $113m and $133m apiece.
The order continues a dynamic couple of years for Marinakis in the VLCC market, which included a $1bn sale of a nine-ship fleet to Saudi giant Bahri and significant investment in newbuildings.
The new 11-ship contract has potentially lifted the tally of VLCCs that Capital has ordered at the Dalian-based shipyard to 17, including the 306,000-dwt Aristotelis II (built 2026), of which the Greek shipowner has just taken delivery.
Shipbuilding sources said the Aristotelis II was a resale newbuilding that Capital acquired from Hengli for $118m in October.
Before the latest order, Capital had contracted two VLCCs with Hengli at the end of 2025 for delivery in the first half of 2028, as well as three additional tankers earlier this year for delivery between 2028 and 2029, according to Clarksons data.
Songfa has not disclosed the delivery dates for the latest order. But shipbuilding brokers suggested Hengli would probably deliver them between the second half of 2028 and 2029.
VLCC newbuildings are currently the preferred vessel type among shipping companies, driven by strong charter rates and an ageing global fleet.
Underinvestment in the crude tanker segment over the past few years has also contributed to the recent surge in newbuilding orders.
One shipping player said the current orderbook for VLCC newbuildings, including option vessels, stands at about 220, and it will soon reach 250.
“It was only 115 VLCC newbuildings on order at the end of December … and this is a massive increase [on the newbuildings] in a very short period of time,” the shipping player said.
The orders have come from established shipping names, including Eyal and Idan Ofer, as well as the Ungar family’s Ray Car Carriers, products giant Scorpio Tankers, Panagis Zissimatos’ Monte Nero Maritime and others.
Shipowner Gianluigi Aponte’s MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company was also said to be looking at VLCC newbuildings for the first time.
The liner company was reported to be in discussions with Hengli for up to 10 ships.
Berth availability for VLCC newbuildings remains limited, as the number of shipyards capable of constructing the large oil tankers is estimated to be fewer than a dozen.
Most of these shipyards have orderbooks committed to large container vessels and LNG carriers.
Greek owner George Procopiou’s Dynacom Tankers Management is reported to be lining up to order 12 VLCC newbuildings worth $1.4bn at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding.
However, the newbuilding project is said to be contingent on the yard’s ability to construct a new dry dock.
