Nasdaq-listed Greek owner Performance Shipping has signed a shipbuilding contract with China Shipbuilding Trading and CSSC-affiliated Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding for the construction of an LR2 aframax product/crude oil tanker.
The 114,000 dwt newbuild will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2025 at a price tag of $62.6m. The vessel will be LNG-ready and fitted with a scrubber, a ballast water treatment system and a high-pressure selective catalytic reactor for Tier III compliance.
Nasdaq-listed Performance has structured the deal to pay 15% of the purchase price upon receipt of a refund guarantee, 10% at each of the milestones of steel cutting, keel laying and launching of the vessel, and the remaining 55% upon the vessel’s delivery.
“This contract is consistent with our view that historically low tanker fleet growth in the next few years and an aging fleet during a high seaborne trade demand period will result in sustainably strong fundamentals and higher asset values,” said Performance chief executive Andreas Michalopoulos.
The company, formerly known as Diana Containerships, currently owns and operates a fleet of eight aframax tankers.
