Pritchard-Gordon Tankers adds third vessel in fleet renewal

UK-registered Pritchard-Gordon Tankers has added a third product tanker in an ongoing fleet renewal programme that has seen one vessel delivered and another on the way.

Pritchard-Gordon Tankers confirmed the order for the third vessel, as a sister ship to a pair of vessels the company ordered in November 2023. At the time, the newbuilds were categorised as "replacement tonnage (10,60-dwt) ... with up-to-date environmental and emissions reduction features," and the company set the delivery dates as Q1 and Q2 2025.

“The tanker sector is under increasing pressure to lessen its carbon footprint, and we are committed to having a fleet that is highly efficient and provides greater flexibility for new sustainable technologies and future fuels,” Pritchard Gordon Tankers newbuild manager Richard Groves said in a statement from propulsion supplier, Wärtsilä.

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä is supplying the integrated propulsion packages for the Pritchard-Gordon Tankers newbuild vessel series. The propulsion packages include fuel-flexible Wärtsilä 32 main engines. In addition to the main engine, each of the three vessels will run on a Wärtsilä gearbox, shaft generator system, controllable pitch propeller, efficiency rudder, propulsion control system, selective catalytic reduction system and an open water lubricated sterntube.

"This order is the third in a series of three such vessels, all with a similar Wärtsilä scope of supply. These three 10,600-dwt newbuild vessels are the latest in PGT’s fleet renewal programme, which is centred around efficiency and lower emissions," Wärtsilä said. 

In September 2024, Pritchard-Gordon Tankers took delivery of and launched Lettie PG, a 10,600-dwt IMO II product tanker. 

The ships have been designed by FKAB Marine Design and are under construction at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Yangzhou) Dingheng shipyard. The Wärtsilä equipment for the first two ships is due to be delivered in 2024. The Wärtsilä equipment for the third vessel will be delivered during 2025 and 2026.