Recently, George Procopiou's Dynacom Tankers Management ("Dynacom") signed a formal agreement with Hengli Heavy Industry for the construction of four additional 300,000-ton Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs).

This marks Dynacom’s second VLCC order with Hengli Heavy Industry this year, bringing the total number of VLCCs ordered by the two companies to 16. 

According to Clarkson's weekly shipping report, the price for a new VLCC is $129.5 million. Industry insiders believe that, as a major client of Hengli Heavy Industry, Dynacom will likely pay around $120 million per vessel at a discounted rate. The delivery of these tankers is expected to begin in 2029.

Dynacom's first collaboration with Hengli Heavy Industry began two years ago when the company acquired two newly-built resale VLCCs equipped with desulfurization towers, reportedly at a price of $122 million each. Hengli Heavy Industry has since delivered both vessels. The "Aliakmon I" (IMO: 1038884) was delivered last June, while the "Pinios" (IMO: 1038896) was delivered last month.

According to Clarkson Research, there are currently 203 VLCC newbuilding orders worldwide, with three-quarters of them being built in China. Hengli Heavy Industry holds 76 of these orders, leading the global VLCC order list by a significant margin, far surpassing the second-place holder, Hanhwa Ocean, which has 29 orders.

Hengli Heavy Industry has secured a total of 75+4 newbuilding orders this year, including 7+2 bulk carriers, 44 VLCCs, 14 tankers, 8+2 container ships, and 2 Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs).

The shipyard stated that with this latest round of orders, the company’s VLCC order portfolio has been further optimized, with an increasing share of high-end vessel types.