(Yicai) June 3 -- Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group, a unit of industry giant China State Shipbuilding, has inked an agreement worth almost CNY10 billion (USD1.5 billion) to build 12 very large crude carriers for Greek oil tanker manager Dynacom Tankers Management.

Hudong-Zhonghua and Dynacom signed the deal for the 12 vessels, each of 307,000 deadweight tonnage, at the Posidonia 2026 maritime exhibition in Athens, held from June 1 to 5, the shipbuilder announced yesterday. Construction will likely start in October next year, utilizing the latest design from the Marine Design and Research Institute of China, also a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding, it added.

In 2021, Hudong-Zhonghua built two floating storage and regasification units for Dynacom.

Against the backdrop of the continuous strengthening of the Chinese yuan, Hudong-Zhonghua will negotiate with Dynacom for part of the orders to be settled in yuan to manage exchange rate risks and maximize benefits, the Shanghai-based company pointed out.

Hudong-Zhonghua boasts the most comprehensive high-end shipbuilding capabilities in China, including the construction of large liquefied natural gas carriers, very large container ships, VLCCs, and multipurpose vessels.

It delivered 21 vessels last year, including 11 LNG carriers with a capacity of 174,000 cubic meters and four 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit container ships. Hudong-Zhonghua had more than 50 LNG carriers and 37 container ship orders as of January, according to CSSC.

Editor: Martin Kadiev