Emarat Maritime piles six more tankers onto China orderbook

Dubai-based Emarat Maritime has added another six tanker newbuildings to its rapidly expanding fleet, lining up a series of 74,000 dwt LR1 product carriers in China.

The company’s own fleet register now lists six LR1 newbuildings, with the first two scheduled for delivery in 2029 and the remaining four in 2030.

Shipbuilding database records seen by Splash place the sextet at Jiangsu New Hantong Ship Heavy Industry. No contract price has emerged.

Recent comparable Chinese LR1 orders have been running at around $55m per ship. Kriton Lendoudis-led Evalend paid about $220m for four 74,000 dwt ships at Yangzijiang this summer, while Andriaki was linked to 73,500 dwt units at New Times at $55.1m each. On that basis, the Emarat sextet would benchmark at around $330m, although its actual contract terms remain undisclosed.

The latest move significantly deepens Emarat’s exposure to the LR1 sector. Its operating fleet currently includes three older ships of roughly the same size — the 2007-built Dubai Diamond and Dubai Gold and the 2005-built Dubai Green. Delivery of the six new ships would therefore triple its LR1 fleet.

The deal also takes Emarat’s overall newbuilding pipeline to 22 vessels. The orderbook includes six 114,000 dwt LR2s at Hengli Heavy Industries, with one due this year and five in 2027, alongside the six latest LR1s.

Splash identified Emarat last November as the owner behind the Hengli LR2 sextet. Market sources put those ships at about $71.5m apiece, giving the programme a value of roughly $429m.

Emarat has since moved into gas shipping as well. Its fleet list shows four 93,000 cu m very large ammonia carriers at Hengli, with two delivering in 2027 and another two in 2028. Market reports have put pricing for those ships in the $105m-$110m range.

The Sharaf Group-backed owner has also been expanding into containers. Splash reported in June that Emarat signed for three firm 930 teu feeder vessels plus three options at Hubei Guangji Xinneng Shipbuilding. The company’s current fleet page now lists six feeder newbuildings, four for 2028 delivery and two for 2029.

That leaves Emarat with a newbuilding pipeline spanning 12 product tankers, four large gas carriers and six feeder containerships — a major expansion for a company whose current operating fleet numbers 19 ships.

The tanker growth also comes as secondhand LR1 values remain elevated. Splash reported last week that the 2016-built Bluebird and Starling changed hands to UAE interests for about $55m each, putting nine-year-old ships at roughly the same price level as some Chinese newbuild contracts signed this year.

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