Hengli Heavy Industries, a leading private shipbuilder, has secured another major order in the oil tanker market. This marks the shipbuilder’s fourth publicly announced newbuilding order in September.
On September 27, Guangdong Songfa Ceramics Co., Ltd. (*ST Songfa) issued an announcement titled “Regarding the Signing of Major Daily Operation Contracts by a Subsidiary,” declaring that its subsidiary Hengli Shipbuilding (Dalian) Co., Ltd. (Hengli Shipbuilding) had secured orders for four new vessels.
Hengli Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of *ST Songfa, recently signed a contract with a prominent European shipowner to build four 306,000-dwt Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). The contract value is estimated to be between US$400 million and US$600 million, translating to a cost of US$100 million to US$125 million per vessel. Delivery is expected between the second half of 2026 and the first half of 2027.
This VLCC represents the international mainstream large crude oil carrier design, featuring high loading capacity, strong endurance, and operational efficiency. Designed with both route adaptability and loading flexibility in mind, it can efficiently adapt to the loading and unloading equipment of major crude oil ports worldwide. It can meet the needs of long-distance transoceanic crude oil trunk line transportation and large-scale transportation from large oil fields to refineries. It conforms to the latest international tanker design concepts and meets the current international shipping market’s demand for large-scale, low-carbon transportation.
As a newly established private shipbuilding giant, Hengli Heavy Industries has announced a total of 12+2 VLCCs, including the latest order. The remaining orders come from Frontline, owned by Norway’s John Fredriksen, and parent company Hengli Group. The 2+2 orders from Frontline were announced on September 5th and are Hengli Heavy Industries’ first VLCC contract announced in 2025. Hengli Group’s six orders were announced in 2024.
At present, Hengli Heavy Industries has achieved a breakthrough from “0” to “1” in the field of VLCC construction, and the first vessel “ALIAKMON Ⅰ” was delivered to the shipowner on June 24, 2025.
Since September, Hengli Heavy Industries has received new orders in the three major mainstream ship types markets: container ships, tankers and bulk carriers. As of September 27, there are a total of 16+6 vessels.