| Alpha Tankers pens VLCC order |
| Greek shipowner Alpha Tankers and Freighters has placed an order for two VLCCs at South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai HI. HHI has provided Alpha Tankers with relatively early delivery slots of September and November 2016 respectively, with pricing of the 300,000 dwt ships understood to be around USD96 million each. The same owner penned two Suezmax tankers in February this year at the same shipyard. All four of the Alpha Tanker newbuildings will be built at HHI’s Ulsan yard. This latest order brings HHI’s VLCC orderbook up to 30 vessels. According to the latest IHS Maritime data, there are now 90 VLCCs on order worldwide. In addition to HHI’s 30 units, South Korean shipyard DSME has 17 such ships in its orderbook. This is followed by Dalian Shipbulding (15 ships), SWS (12), Japan Marine United (five), Hanjin HI (four), Jinhai (four), Guangzhou Longxue (two), and Dalian COSCO KHI (one). |