Japanese shipping company Lepta Shipping, a joint venture between Nissen Kaiun and Mitsui & Co., has ordered up to twelve bulk carriers.
As disclosed, the shipowner signed a contract with Chinese shipbuilder Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. The deal includes ten firm vessels, with an option to buy additional two bulkers.
The bulkers will have 82,500 dwt. They will be classed by classification society ClassNK.
According to the shipbuilder, the vessels are slated for delivery from the first quarter of 2026.
In the past, the shipbuilder scored orders for LPG carriers, LNG B-type fuel tanks, MR product oil tankers, and 80,000DWT large self-unloading ships, with the value of the contracts going up to $2.1 billion.
In February this year, Chinese shipbuilder Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding delivered Maersk Biscayne to Lepta Shipping. The ship is intended for a charter for Danish container shipping major A.P. Moller Maersk.
The vessel is believed to be a part of a series of containerships Lepta Shipping ordered at Yangzijiang back in June 2020.
The contract covers the construction of up to ten boxship newbuildings if all options are exercised. Based on broker reports, the initial order covered five fixed orders which were expanded with five additional ones in 2021, pushing the contract value to around $400 million.