South Korean shipowner Pan Ocean has officially signed shipbuilding contracts with China’s New Times Shipbuilding for the construction of six 325,000 dwt VLOCs.
The price for each vessel is $74m and deliveries are scheduled between December 2019 and September 2021.
The contract is part of a COA deal Pan Ocean entered into with Brazilian miner Vale, who has clinched COA deals with a number of Chinese and South Korean companies including Cosco Shipping, ICBC Leasing, China Merchants, Korea Line and Polaris Shipping.
The COA deals will see dozens of VLOC newbuildings transport iron ore for Vale from 2019 onwards.
The contract is also New Times Shipbuilding’s first ever VLOC order.
Pan Ocean currently operates a fleet of 61 bulkers with another 11 newbuildings under construction.
