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A spokeswoman for EPS confirmed the new orders to LNG Prime on Wednesday, without providing further details.
Brokers and shipbuilding sources said that EPS had exercised options for six LNG dual-fuel PCTCs with a capacity of 5,500 ceu.
Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding, part of Fujian Shipbuilding Industry Group, will build four vessels and China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Nanjing will construct two ships.
Each of the PCTCs is said to be worth $80 million.
The vessels are expected to be delivered in 2027 and 2028.
In June this year, Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding and XSI, both part of Fujian Shipbuilding Industry Group, said they had signed a contract with EPS for the construction of PCTCs and MR product tankers.
Under this deal, the shipbuilder will build four LNG dual-fuel PCTCs with a capacity of 5,500 ceu and this contract included four optional vessels.
The vessels will be 190 meters long and 35.6 meters wide and will have a maximum draught of 9.5 meters.
The SDARI-designed PCTCs will have 11 decks.
The contract for the two CMJL (Nanjing) vessels also included two options.
Earlier this year, EPS ordered two more LNG-fueled PCTCs at CMJL (Nanjing).
The shipbuilder revealed the new order for two 7,000-ceu LNG dual-fuel PCTCs in a statement.
Besides CMJL (Nanjing), EPS has more LNG dual-fuel PCTCs with a capacity of 7,000 ceu on order at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Weihai, which is building six LNG-powered PCTCs for EPS.
EPS recently took delivery of the third LNG-fueled PCTC which will serve a charter deal with CMA CGM’s unit CEVA Logistics.
Huge DF fleet
EPS has a large fleet of LNG-powered vessels, including containerships, tankers, bulkers, and PCTCs.
The company recently ordered four 113,600-dwt LNG dual-fuel vessels at China’s Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry (XSI)
The spokeswoman said at the time that EPS has 121 LNG dual-fuel vessels in total across segments. This includes 62 operational vessels.
Additionally, the total number of vessels in the EPS fleet stands at 300, including operational vessels and on order, according to the spokeswoman.
In September, EPS completed its 250th ship-to-ship LNG bunkering operation.
The milestone LNG bunkering operation took place in China.
EPS completed its first LNG bunkering operation in November 2020, the 50th operation in September 2022, the 100th operation in June 2023, the 150th operation and the 200th operation earlier this year.