After more than a year of bidding, Australian mining giant BHP has finally clinched the world's largest LNG bulk carrier chartering project, with two Chinese shipyards expected to secure orders for five LNG Newcastlemax bulk carriers worth a total of $330 million.
Singapore-based shipping company Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) has signed a chartering contract with BHP for five 209,000 DWT LNG-powered Newcastlemax bulk carriers.
It is part of a project launched by BHP in July 2019 for five bulk carriers to transport iron ore from Western Australia to China. The LNG fuel supply contract is expected to be signed in October.
EPS said the five bulk carriers will be equipped with high-pressure ME-GI engines to reduce methane slippage to negligible levels, and the new ships are expected to be delivered in 2022, by which time they will meet IMO's 2030 emissions reduction targets eight years ahead of schedule.
Although EPS did not release relevant shipyard information, some sources said that the five ships will be built jointly by Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and New Times Shipbuilding, of which 2 are built by Waigaoqiao and 3 are built by New Times.
Source: Sarah Yu, XINDE MARINE NEWS
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