$410 Million Chemical Tanker Order from Saudis Bolsters Orderbook
Bahri, the Saudi Arabian shipping company, placed an order to build ten 49,999 DWT Medium Range (MR) chemical tankers with South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. Valued at $410 million, the order comes at a time when the world’s shipyards have been suffering from a significant decline in new ship orders.
Bimco recently reported that the global orderbook for new ships was down by 50 percent in 2020 to a 17 year low. Orders for tankers, which according to Bimco were already at lower levels over the past two decades, were down an additional four percent for crude oil and 12 percent for product tankers comparing 2020 to 2019. Product tankers were the only segment of shipbuilding to report a slight increase in orders in the first half of 2020 according to Bimco.
“The new agreement with HMD for the building of 10 high-spec chemical tankers represents a major step forward in our next phase of growth and further strengthens our leading position in the global maritime industry,” said Abdullah Aldubaikhi CEO of Bahri. “With the newbuilds entering our fleet over the next two years, we will be further equipped to cater to the varying needs of our customers around the world.”
Scheduled to start being delivered during the first quarter of 2022, Bahri’s 10 new chemical tankers will be built to the highest environmental, fuel-efficiency, and safety standards in line with the company’s commitment to operating responsibly. They will also expand on its long-standing relationship with the Korean shipbuilders. These 10 MR tankers will bring the total to 61 vessels built by the HHI group for Bahri.
In May 2020, Bahri took delivery of its new dry-bulk carrier the Sara, which is the first ship received as part of the agreement signed between Bahri Dry Bulk and HMD in August 2017 to build four new dry-bulk carriers by 2020. In addition to the three other bulk carriers that are under construction, the company is also expecting a new VLCC, which is currently being built by International Maritime Industries and will be delivered by October 2021, lifting Bahri’s fleet of multi-purpose vessels to 101.
One of the world’s largest owners and operators of VLCCs and the Middle East’s largest owner and operator of chemical tankers, Bahri currently owns and operates a total of 87 vessels, including 41 VLCCs, 34 chemical and product tankers, 6 multipurpose ro-ro vessels, and 6 dry-bulk carriers, in addition to four other carriers on order.