Chinese shipyards win orders for stainless steel chemical tankers

Three Chinese shipyards secured orders for several stainless steel chemical tankers last week, Greek shipbroking services provider Intermodal informed.

Singaporean Rongtua Shipping has ordered a pair of Tier III 25,900 dwt stainless steel chemical tankers at Jinling Dingheng yard. Delivery and financial details of the shipbuilding contract have not been disclosed.

Additionally, Chinese chemical tanker operator Xintong Shipping contracted a quartet of 13,800 dwt vessels from Taizhou Kouan. The four units are priced between $22.3 million and $23.4 million each, with delivery scheduled for 2026-2027.

Specifically, two of these vessels were ordered directly by Xintong, while the remaining two were contracted by Xingtong-IMC Shipping (XT-IMC Shipping), a joint venture with Singapore’s IMC Shipping.

Meanwhile, the German shipping group John T. Essberger exercised an option for two methanol-ready ICE 1A chemical tankers at Nantong Rainbow shipyard.

As Offshore Energy already reported, deliveries are expected in 2027 and 2028.

The newbuilds—to be designed by FKAB—will have the notation Ice Class 1A, meet Tier III emission requirement, and be equipped with ‘innovative engines’ capable of running on methanol.

In related news, China has cemented its position as the world’s top shipbuilding nation as it secured orders for 3,454 out of a total of 5,735 vessels in the current global orderbook, according to Intermodal data.

This represents an orderbook share of 62.42% or a total of 175.4 million gross tons.