The Hamburg shipowner has returned to Guangzhou Shipyard International for another two 49,500-dwt chemical/product tankers, expanding a programme that began with four ships in 2024. The repeat order comes as Leonhardt & Blumberg builds a larger presence in product tankers and GSI strengthens its position as one of the world’s busiest MR newbuilding yards.

German shipowner Leonhardt & Blumberg (L&B) has ordered another two 49,500-dwt MR chemical/product tankers from Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI), extending its newbuilding series at the Chinese yard to eight vessels on a cumulative contracted basis.

The latest contract was signed in Hamburg on September 1 by GSI and China Shipbuilding Trading Co., Ltd. (CSTC) with L&B. Broker reports place delivery of the latest pair in 2029, although neither the owner nor the yard has publicly disclosed individual delivery dates or the contract price.

The new ships are expected to follow the basic specification of L&B’s existing GSI series, including scrubbers and methanol-ready arrangements. That description is important: the ships are designed with provision for future methanol dual-fuel capability; it does not mean they are being delivered with methanol dual-fuel propulsion already installed. L&B’s original specification described the design as having “Methanol Dual Fuel readiness”, together with open-loop scrubbers, Tier III compliance and EEDI Phase 3 performance.

The order is L&B’s second expansion of the programme this year and turns what began as a four-ship project into a clear repeat-order relationship.

From four ships to eight

L&B first entered into the GSI MR programme in 2024. Two vessels were contracted in April of that year and the order was increased to four in September. At the time, L&B described the deal as its first MR newbuilding cooperation with China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

A further two ships were added in February 2026, bringing the series to six. The September agreement adds another pair.

There is still a lag between the latest contracting history and some public fleet records.

L&B’s website and Navig8 material continue to refer to a six-vessel newbuilding series, reflecting the programme before the latest September order, while Riviera reported this week that Clarksons data still showed six ships. The September 1 signing, however, adds two further vessels to the four contracted in 2024 and the two added in February, taking the cumulative contractual total to eight.

Repeat order lands as first ships enter service

The timing of the latest contract is also notable because the first vessels from the programme are now entering operation.

L&B took delivery of Hansa Guangzhou in June. The owner describes the ship as a 49,500-dwt chemical/product tanker measuring 183 metres in length and 32 metres in beam, with a design speed of 14.5 knots. It is fitted with an exhaust gas cleaning system and complies with Tier III and EEDI Phase 3 requirements.

Hansa Genoa, the second vessel in the series, was delivered on September 2, one day after the latest two-ship contract was signed in Hamburg.

The proximity of the new order to the first deliveries demonstrates the continuity of the GSI-L&B relationship, although there is no public evidence that the latest contracting decision was directly triggered by operating performance from the first two ships.

That distinction matters. The ships are only beginning their commercial lives, so attributing the repeat order to proven fuel savings or earnings performance would go beyond what either L&B or GSI has disclosed.

L&B is building a much larger tanker position

The order is also part of a broader shift at Leonhardt & Blumberg.

Founded in Hamburg in 1903, L&B spent much of its modern history closely associated with smaller containership tonnage. Its current website lists 20 handy-sized containerships, six product tankers and three multipurpose vessels.

Its move into product tankers is relatively recent.

In April 2022, L&B agreed to acquire three 2008-built MR product tankers from Ardmore Shipping for an aggregate $40 million, marking its entry into the sector. Ardmore chartered the ships back for at least two years after the sale. L&B said at the time that it had been evaluating other shipping segments as part of a wider fleet-diversification strategy.

The company subsequently added further secondhand tanker exposure before moving into newbuildings.

That progression — from purchasing existing MR assets in 2022 to ordering four newbuildings in 2024 and adding two more ships twice in 2026 — suggests that product tankers are becoming a more substantial part of L&B’s long-term fleet strategy rather than a small diversification play.

The eight-ship GSI programme is particularly significant because it will introduce a modern generation of IMO II-capable tonnage alongside the owner’s existing tanker assets.

Navig8 agreement covers the original six — not yet the latest pair

L&B has also put a commercial structure around its first six GSI newbuildings.

In November 2025, Navig8 announced an agreement covering six newbuild Marineline-coated IMO II MR vessels owned by L&B. Under the arrangement, Navig8 commercially manages the ships through a combination of time-charter and pooling agreements, with the vessels trading in its Gamma8 IMO2 MR Pool.

Navig8 said in June that Hansa Guangzhou and Hansa Genoa were the first two vessels covered by the arrangement. The remaining four from the original six-ship programme were expected to follow between October 2026 and March 2027.

There is, however, no public confirmation that the two ships ordered in September have been added to the Navig8 agreement.

The distinction is commercially relevant. A repeat newbuilding order does not automatically mean the owner has extended the same chartering or pool arrangements to later ships.

Ordering continues despite a sizeable MR orderbook

L&B’s decision to secure 2029 delivery slots comes against a tanker market that is no longer short of newbuilding commitments.

Clarksons Research data cited in Hafnia’s 2025 annual report showed 260 MR tankers totalling 12.7 million dwt on order as of March 1, 2026. Of that total, 4.4 million dwt was scheduled for delivery in 2026, 4.7 million dwt in 2027 and 3.6 million dwt from 2028 onwards.

This creates a more nuanced investment backdrop than during the early phase of the post-2022 tanker upcycle. Owners placing new orders now must weigh fleet-renewal requirements and expectations for longer-term refined-product trade against a much larger forward delivery schedule.

Newbuilding prices also remain elevated.

Current market indications put a new 47,000-51,000-dwt MR tanker at around $52 million, compared with roughly $48.75 million a year earlier, according to Clarksons data cited in recent industry reporting. That represents a rise of about 7%.

The figure provides market context only. L&B’s actual price for the latest two ships has not been disclosed, and the $52 million benchmark should not be multiplied by two and presented as the contract value.

The latest order therefore does not appear to be a straightforward low-price asset play. L&B is committing capital to 2029-delivery tonnage at a time when MR newbuilding values remain around the low-$50 million range and a significant volume of new capacity is already scheduled to enter the market.

GSI has built one of the world’s largest MR orderbooks

For Guangzhou Shipyard International, the repeat business also illustrates China’s growing position in one of the tanker market’s most competitive newbuilding segments.

GSI is part of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) and has made MR tankers one of its core export products. Its latest L&B ships are based on a design developed by the yard, with the 49,500-dwt series combining IMO II chemical/product capability with energy-efficiency measures and future-fuel readiness.

Clarksons Research data as of March 1 ranked GSI Nansha first among MR tanker builders by orderbook, with 38 ships totalling 1.8 million dwt.

That compared with 26 ships at HD Hyundai Vietnam, 19 at HD Hyundai’s medium-sized tanker facilities in South Korea and 17 at K Shipbuilding’s Jinhae yard.

 

China’s strength in MR construction is therefore no longer simply a question of winning individual contracts from overseas owners. The more significant development is the emergence of repeat customers placing successive series at Chinese yards.

L&B provides a useful example. Its initial four-ship GSI programme has been expanded twice within 2026, while the first vessels are entering service and the yard continues to carry one of the largest MR backlogs globally.

What comes next

The latest contract raises L&B’s cumulative GSI series to eight ships, but several details remain unresolved.

The precise 2029 delivery schedule and contract price for the latest pair have not been disclosed. It also remains to be seen whether Navig8’s Gamma8 arrangement will be extended beyond the original six vessels.

Meanwhile, four ships from that original programme are due to follow Hansa Guangzhou and Hansa Genoa, giving the market a clearer view over the coming months of how quickly L&B’s newbuilding tanker fleet is taking shape.

For GSI, the next measure of the relationship will be whether an eight-vessel series marks the completion of L&B’s current MR expansion or becomes the basis for further repeat orders. For L&B, the more immediate question is how large a role product tankers will ultimately play alongside the containership business on which the company built much of its modern fleet.