Eastern Pacific inks deal for up to 6 dual-fuel car carriers

Singapore-based ship management company Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) has placed an order for the construction of up to six dual-fuel car carriers with China Merchants Jinling shipyard.

The deal includes four firm 70,000 tonne-class car carriers and an option for two additional ones. The companies have not disclosed further details on the value of the contract or the delivery dates for the newbuilds. Market reports indicate that the deal is worth around $522 million.

LNG is a major component of EPS’ Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) policy, and the company has been on roll with the ordering of dual-fuel vessels over the recent period. Aside from LNG, the company is also looking into the potential of LPG, Ethane, Biofuels, Methanol, and Ammonia as part of its decarbonization strategy.

Some of the most recent deals saw EPS order three dual-fuel 210,000 dwt Capesize bulk carriers that will be chartered by Rio Tinto, as well as 11 large container ships which have been chartered out to MSC.

EPS has over 30 newbuilds scheduled for delivery in 2021-2022 that are predominantly powered by alternative marine fuels.

These include five LNG dual-fuel Newcastlemax bulk carriers, chartered to BHP, as well as four 98,000 cubic meter very large ethane carriers being built for China-based Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical (STL), featuring dual-fuel ethane.

Singapore-based ship manager oversees a fleet of 17 million deadweight tons across the containership, dry bulk, tanker segments, and PCTC segments. The company has an impressive newbuilding orderbook counting over 60 vessels.