Seatankers Management, a private investment firm owned by Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen, has resumed purchasing vessels from Chinese shipyards, with the order comprising four Newcastlemax bulk carriers.
Shipping broker Bancosta reports that Seatankers Management has placed an additional order for four 210,000 DWT Newcastlemax bulk carriers with Panjin Dajin Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (Panjin Dajin), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the private shipbuilder Dajin Heavy Industry. The construction cost per vessel is approximately $73.5 million, bringing the total price for the four vessels to about $292 million.
With this latest order, the total number of Newcastlemax bulk carriers ordered by Seatankers Management in collaboration with Panjin Dajin has increased to eight. Dajin Heavy Industry confirmed the first batch of four vessels on April 23, with each vessel priced at $73.5 million. Based on this figure, the total value of the eight new vessels is approximately $588 million (equivalent to approximately 4 billion RMB), and all eight are scheduled for delivery between 2028 and 2029. This type of bulk carrier has a total length of approximately 299.95 meters, a beam of 50 meters, and a draft of 25 meters.
According to an announcement made in March of this year, Seatankers Management placed an order with Panjin Dajin for 4+4 vessels; it is currently unclear whether the latest four vessels ordered are part of that order.
It is understood that Panjin Dajin, established in 2022 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dajin Heavy Industry, is a core member of Dajin Heavy Industry’s three major offshore engineering bases in the Bohai Rim region. The company specializes in the construction of specialized vessels for the offshore engineering sector, including various types of self-propelled deck carriers, semi-submersibles, heavy-lift vessels, floating docks, and offshore wind power operation and maintenance vessels.
As a major exporter of offshore wind power infrastructure equipment, Dajin Heavy Industry has now expanded its business scope to include commercial shipbuilding. Based on data released by Dajin Heavy Industry on June 9, since actively securing new external shipbuilding orders starting in 2025, the shipbuilder has secured contracts totaling over 8.8 billion yuan. These vessels, scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2029, include a variety of ship types such as deck cargo vessels, unpowered semi-submersible barges, multipurpose heavy-lift vessels, and dry bulk carriers.
Excluding the latest four vessels, Dajin Heavy Industry has publicly announced 16 new ships across two types this year, including 14 210,000-metric-ton bulk carriers and two multipurpose heavy-lift vessels. With a total construction cost of approximately $1.2 billion and delivery schedules extending through 2029, all orders were placed by overseas shipowners.