On January 14, *ST Songfa announced that its subsidiary, Hengli Shipbuilding (Dalian) Co., Ltd., recently signed and came into effect a contract to build two 306,000 DWT Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). The total contract value is approximately US$200-300 million, and based on this, the estimated cost per vessel is approximately US$100-150 million. Delivery is expected to take place in the second half of 2028.
The announcement disclosed that the counterparty is a single-vessel company under Seatankers Management, registered in the Marshall Islands. Its primary business encompasses tanker transportation, offshore vessel operations, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) transportation. The company possesses sound credit standing and the capability to fulfill its obligations.
According to the announcement, the 306,000 DWT VLCC contracted represents the international mainstream large crude oil carrier type, characterized by its large loading capacity, strong endurance and high operational efficiency.
This vessel type is designed to balance route adaptability and loading flexibility, and can be efficiently adapted to the loading and unloading equipment of major crude oil ports around the world. 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 is a crude oil tanker that conforms to the latest international tanker design concepts and meets the current international shipping market’s demand for large-scale and low-carbon transportation.
This is Hengli Heavy Industries’ first publicly disclosed new shipbuilding contract since entering 2026. In 2025, Hengli Heavy Industries successfully completed its order book with 115 new vessels worth over 100 billion yuan, achieving comprehensive success in orders for multiple types of vessels, including container ships, bulk carriers and oil tankers.