The board members of China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) has approved of a plan to order an additional 10 eco-friendly VLCCs, which will be operated by its joint venture China VLCC.

The 10 newbuilding crude oil tankers will be constructed at a local shipyard, CMES said in a regulatory filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The joint venture China VLCC is 51% owned by CMES and 49% controlled by Sinotrans & CSC Group, which is currently in the midst of a merger with China Merchants Group, parent of CMES.

As at 4 December 2015, CMES owned a fleet of 34 VLCCs and sat on an orderbook of 19 new VLCCs, including the latest 10 units.