Emarat Maritime Orders Six LR1 Tankers in China, Tripling Its Fleet in That Segment

Dubai-based shipping company Emarat Maritime ordered six new 74,000-deadweight-ton LR1 product tankers from the Chinese shipyard Jiangsu New Hantong Ship Heavy Industry. The first two units will be delivered in 2029, and the remaining four in 2030. With this addition, the company will triple its current LR1 fleet, which today consists of three older vessels: the Dubai Diamond and Dubai Gold, built in 2007, and the Dubai Green, from 2005.

The order brings Emarat's total newbuilding order book at Chinese shipyards to 22 vessels. In addition to the 12 LR1 and LR2 tankers, the program includes four 93,000-cubic-meter very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) and six 930-TEU feeder container ships. The 114,000-DWT LR2s are being built at Hengli Heavy Industries, with one unit scheduled for this year and five for 2027, while the VLACs are also being built at that shipyard, with deliveries spread between 2027 and 2028. The feeders, meanwhile, correspond to a contract signed with Hubei Guangji Xinneng Shipbuilding.

The contract price for the six LR1s was not disclosed by the company. However, based on comparable LR1 orders at Chinese shipyards, which have been priced at around $55 million per unit, the reference value of the new batch would be estimated at around $330 million. If these figures are confirmed along with those of the LR2s and VLACs, the combined set of 12 tankers and four gas carriers would reach an indicative combined value of between $1.18 billion and $1.2 billion.

Emarat Maritime, founded in 1990 and backed by Sharaf Group, currently operates a fleet of 19 vessels, comprising nine tankers and ten geared bulk carriers. The new construction program, which includes the LR1s, LR2s, VLACs, and feeders, represents a significant expansion of that operating fleet, while also giving the company a presence in the gas and container segments, in addition to renewing its older tanker fleet, built between 2005 and 2011.