Performance Shipping inks construction deal for LNG-ready LR2 Aframax duo

Greek tanker owner Performance Shipping has signed two contracts with China Shipbuilding Trading Co. and Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding for the construction of two 114,000 dwt LNG-ready LR2 Aframax product/crude oil tankers.

The oil tanker vessels are expected to be delivered in January and April of 2026, at a purchase price of $64,845,000 per vessel.

The vessels will be equipped with electronic main engines with high-pressure selective catalytic reactors (HPSCR) for Tier III (NOx Emissions) compliance. They will also be fitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) for Tier II (NOx Emissions) compliance, and ballast water treatment systems.

“These shipbuilding contracts supplement the previous contract we entered into with SWS in March 2023 for a Tier III product/crude oil carrier scheduled for delivery around October 2025. The construction of these LNG-ready LR2 oil tankers, equipped with the latest high-specification engines and meeting stringent emission requirements, along with scrubbers and water ballast treatment systems, will take place at the largest and most reputable state-owned shipyard in China,” Andreas Michalopoulos, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, said.

The order comes on the heels of the sale of the company’s oldest vessels, M/T P. Fos in October 2022 and M/T P. Kikuma in November 2023. With the sale of the P. Kikuma completed, the company’s fleet currently consists of seven Aframax tankers, and one LNG-ready LR2 Aframax tanker expected to be delivered during the fourth quarter of 2025.

“Following the sale of our oldest, 2007 built, Aframax tankers, the Company is now poised to take delivery of three identical “sister” vessels in late 2025 through early 2026. These sales and acquisitions constitute our core fleet expansion and renewal strategy. We believe that tanker fleet growth will reach historical lows in the coming years and maintaining a modern fleet among an aging global fleet during periods of high seaborne trade demand will result in sustainably strong fundamentals and higher asset values,” Michalopoulos added.

Performance Shipping was established in 2010 initially focusing on the ownership of container vessels. In 2019, the company began its gradual transition to a tanker fleet, completing its exit from the container shipping sector in 2020. The company’s tankers are predominantly chartered by oil companies and employed on time charters and pool arrangements.