South Korean owner Sinokor Merchant Marine has signed shipbuilding contracts with China’s Jinhai Intelligent Manufacturing, formerly Jinhai Heavy Industry, for the construction of up to twenty 208,000 dwt newcastlemax bulk carriers.
Splash understands that the contract includes firm orders for four vessels and options for 16 vessels. Financial details were not disclosed.
Sinokor has been significantly expanding its fleet recently, having acquired several secondhand tankers from BP, while the company was also linked to a deal of taking over 30 feeder boxships managed by Vroon for German banks.
The company’s bulker fleet now stands at 24 vessels with an average age of 14 years.
South Korean yards have been facing fierce competitions from Chinese yards and although the South Korean government has been calling domestic owner to place orders at domestic yards, Korean owners have still been choosing Chinese yards due to more competitive pricing.
