South Korean shipbuilding group STX Offshore & Shipbuilding has secured refund guarantees from Korea Development Bank (KDB) for up to four product tankers ordered by Greek owner Victor Restis-controlled Golden Energy Management.
The delivery of the four 50,000 dwt ships, include firm orders for two and options for additional two, are expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2020. Two ships are currently under construction at the yard.
“We have been negotiating contracts since June this year, and we ordered it because we believed that the shipbuilding capacity of the yard was the best among the medium and large shipyards,” Golden Energy Management said to Korean local media Naver, adding that the company will continue to cooperate with STX for future orders.
Currently STX has an orderbook of 15 vessels.
In May, Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis and Capital Maritime & Trading signed a letter of intent with South Korean yard STX for the construction of up to 10 MR tankers.