Greek orders led latest tanker contracting

Greek owners extended tanker contracting in the latest BRL Weekly Newbuild Newsletter, with JHI Steamship booking two 115,000-dwt Aframax/LR2 tankers at K Shipbuilding for delivery in December 2027 and June 2028, and an option flagged that would lift the programme to three hulls.

Laskaridis Shipping also surfaced with three 50,000-dwt product carriers at Zhoushan Changhong International, dated for March 2026, September 2026 and March 2027, after two earlier contracts were confirmed and a third added this week.

Small clean-tanker activity broadened the week’s tally, with a Singapore owner contracting three 1,360-dwt product carriers for delivery in September 2026, December 2026 and June 2027, alongside a 7,999-dwt chemical carrier for May 2027 at Jiangxi Jiangxin. Options on both the product and chemical series remain in place to lift totals.

BRL’s orderbook analysis recorded three medium product tankers and four small product tankers ordered in the past week, consistent with the disclosed Greek and Singapore orders.

On the crude side, BRL listed negotiations for up to four 306,000-dwt VLCCs between TMS Tankers and Hengli Heavy Industry as ’pending,’ underscoring a forward pipeline that, if concluded, would add length at the top end of the crude segment.

BRL also logged a Handymax MR2 delivery in the period — Altmann from Hyundai Mipo — maintaining fleet inflow on the products side.

Beyond tankers, the week featured 48 new orders across sectors, with speculative bulkers prominent at Tsuneishi Zhoushan and a German electric-ferry trio for 2028 delivery at SET Schiffbau.

Elsewhere, in gas and offshore, BRL recorded an FLNG award to Samsung for the Delfin project, including a 300-m unit with 210,000 m³ LNG storage and an agreed pathway to secure a second newbuilding slot in early 2026; BRL noted a third unit was also planned.