On October 12, Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding successfully kicked off construction on two 300,000 DWT VLCCs: the vessel (Hull No. H1470) for the Swiss company Mercuria, and the vessel (Hull No. H1458) for Taiping & Sinopec Financial Leasing Co., Ltd.
Vessel H1470 is the first 300,000 DWT VLCC built by Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding for the Swiss company Mercuria; it is classed by ABS.
In 2024, Mercuria announced an order for two 300,000 DWT VLCCs from Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, to be acquired through a combination of long-term charter and direct ownership. The new vessels will run on conventional fuel and are scheduled for delivery in 2027 and 2028; the cost per vessel is reportedly around $120 million.
The H1458 is the first 300,000 DWT VLCC built by Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding for Taiping & Sinopec Financial Leasing and is classed by DNV and CCS. The vessel was constructed using a “three-phase” approach. Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding fully leveraged the advantages of its dry dock’s length, optimally allocated dry dock resources, “added” work on critical paths such as the engine room and superstructure to enhance in-dock completeness, and “reduced” the frequency of dry dock gate openings to shorten the overall dry dock cycle.
Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding stated that, after a nine-year hiatus, it has returned to the VLCC construction sector. So far this year, it has successively commenced construction on projects with three shipowners, demonstrating its construction strength and brand influence in the VLCC building field.
As a major domestic shipbuilder for VLCC, Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding designed and built the “Huashan”, a 318,000 DWT VLCC that was the first in the world to fully comply with the International Association of Classification Societies’ latest Common Structural Rules. Mercuria’s newbuild project marks the shipbuilder’s first contract to build a VLCC since returning to this sector.