On February 25, Hengli Heavy Industries, a newly emerging private shipbuilding giant in China, announced that it had received orders for three Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). At the time, it was only disclosed that the order came from a well-known European shipowner. However, according to market sources, two of the vessels are related to Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS), a Singapore-based company owned by Israeli shipping magnate Idan Ofer.
The two newly unveiled VLCCs are expected to be delivered between 2029 and 2030. This type of VLCC is a mainstream large crude oil tanker in the international market, characterized by large loading capacity, long range, and high operational efficiency. With a deadweight tonnage of 306,000 tons, its design balances route adaptability and loading flexibility, and can efficiently adapt 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.
Including the two newly disclosed new vessels, EPS has placed orders for 10 VLCCs with Hengli Heavy Industries. The orders for the remaining eight new vessels were announced on November 27, 2025 and January 22, 2026, respectively.
EPS returned to the tanker segment in 2025 and placed a one-time order for six VLCCs with Hengli Heavy Industries on November 27 of the same year. This batch of new vessels marks EPS’s first order for new VLCCs since the “Maritime Jewel” VLCC, built in 2000, was scrapped in 2018.
This batch of VLCCs is part of the shipowner’s strategic move to rebuild its crude oil tanker fleet. For several years prior, EPS’s fleet consisted mainly of Aframax and Suezmax tankers, but recently it has been continuously expanding its medium-sized product tanker fleet.
It is worth noting that EPS has become one of the most active shipowners placing orders with Hengli Heavy Industries. Since 2025, the two parties have signed nearly 30 new building contracts, covering crude oil tankers, product tankers, container ships, and Capesize bulk carriers, all of which are mainstream ship types in the market.
According to available information, EPS is one of the world’s largest privately owned shipping companies with over 60 years of history. It is committed to promoting the shipping industry towards a green and technology-driven direction. Headquartered in Singapore, it has approximately 7,000 employees, including seafarers and shore-based teams. It operates and manages nearly 350 vessels with a total deadweight tonnage of over 30 million, covering a diverse range of ship types including container ships, tankers, dry bulk carriers and gas carriers.
As of February 27, Hengli Heavy Industries had received orders for 69+4 new ships, including 7+2 bulk carriers, 38 VLCCs, 14 oil tankers, 8+2 container ships and 2 VLACs, making it the shipbuilder with the most new ship orders so far this year.