Sinopacific Shipbuilding Group and Marine Capital Ltd (MCL) announced their agreement for the construction of 4 ‘Crown 63’ bulkers to be built at Yangzhou Dayang Shipyard, China.
The deal, which is worth over $100m, marks another significant step for MCL in its management activity. It is understood the bulkers, a new model of super fuel-efficient ships with the added advantage of significant reduction in CO2 emissions, are destined for MCL’s vehicle, Eclipse Shipping, and will be operated by MCL in the open market.
Deliveries for the 4 ships will commence during the second half of 2014 and continue into the first quarter of 2015. It is understood that all 4 ships will fly the British Flag.
Mr Simon Liang (Chairman & CEO) of Sinopacific Group commented, “We are very pleased to have concluded this business with respected shipping manager, MCL. We appreciate the trust they have placed in us, and specifically our design and construction process for the Crown 63 series.”
Tony Foster, CEO of MCL said, “Having undertaken extensive due diligence on competing ship designs and shipyards, we settled on Sinopacific and the Crown 63 for their proven record, and cooperative approach, which we believe will result in the deliveries of excellent ships which will be highly competitive in the market place. We were impressed with the strength of the design team. The combination of design, reliability on production schedule and appreciation of our specific needs made the decision for us. We are very much looking forward to seeing these ships on the water.”
The Crown 63 series, designed for the transportation of a range of major bulk cargoes including coal, iron ore, grains, and cement, as well as heavy cargos such as steel pipes and products, represents a major step forward in ship design. The ships offer increased deadweight combined with significant fuel efficiency and time-saving cargo operation.
The agreement was arranged by Hartland Shipping Services.
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Sinopacific Group, June 21, 2013