Greek shipowner Maran Tankers has placed an order with Hanwha Ocean for four Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). Hanwha Ocean announced the order on the 24th, with a total construction cost of approximately $516 million. Each vessel is valued at about $129 million and is scheduled for delivery to the shipowner by November 2028.
Although Hanwha Ocean has not disclosed details such as the shipowner, industry insiders widely believe this order comes from Maran Tankers. Given the per-vessel construction cost, the industry speculates that the new vessels ordered by Maran Tankers are not dual-fuel designs but rather conventional fuel-powered vessels.
Industry insiders revealed that Maran Tankers signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Hanwha Ocean for shipbuilding one month ago and considers Hanwha Ocean “one of its preferred shipyards.”
Notably, this marks Maran Tankers’ first VLCC order in four years. The company previously placed an order with Samsung Heavy Industries in 2021 for four LNG dual-fuel VLCCs, priced at $103.8 million each—significantly higher than the approximately $90 million per unit for conventionally fueled VLCCs during the same period.
It is understood that Maran Tankers, led by Maria Angelicoussis, has long been a “long-standing customer” of Hanwha Ocean through its parent company, the Angelicoussis Group. The group has cumulatively ordered over 100 vessels from Hanwha Ocean via its affiliated shipowners, maintaining a close cooperative relationship over the years. In July 2018, Maran Gas, a subsidiary of the Angelicoussis Group, placed an order with Hanwha Ocean’s predecessor, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, for a 173,400 m³-class LNG-FSRU. This marked the 100th vessel jointly constructed by the two companies.