Singapore’s Eastern Pacific Shipping said it has signed a deal to charter up to six LNG-powered dry bulk carriers to mining giant Rio Tinto.
EPS said in a statement on Tuesday the duo entered into the deal for three LNG dual-fueled Newcastlemax vessels, with an option for three more.
In addition, China’s New Times Shipbuilding will build the 210,000 DWT ships and deliver them starting from the second half of 2023.
“This partnership between EPS and Rio Tinto is another important step forward for industry-wide decarbonisation. We need like-minded companies to come together and use transitional fuels, like LNG, to get there,” EPS CEO Cyril Ducau said in the statement.
EPS did not provide any additional information but several shipbrokers said last month that the price tag of the six vessels would reach about $400 million.
Moreover, brokers said that South Korea’s H-Line Shipping also chartered up to six similar LNG-powered bulkers to London-based Rio Tinto. China’s Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry would build these vessels.