It was only in April that Leonhardt & Blumberg ordered new tankers in China for the first time. Now the Hamburg-based shipping company is going one better.
Leonhardt & Blumberg (L&B) entered the tanker market around two years ago in order to establish a second mainstay alongside its fleet of container ships. In a first step, the shipping company then acquired six second-hand ships, including some from Ardmore, with capacities ranging from 47,700 tdw to a good 51,000 tdw. The first newbuildings followed in April, and further orders are now being placed.
Brokers report that L&B has once again ordered two IMO II product tankers, each with a capacity of 49,500 tdw, from Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI), part of the state-owned shipyard group CSSC. The price is 45 million dollars per unit. These are two options that had already been agreed with the first order in the spring.
Leonhardt & Blumberg believes in methanol
The 183 m long newbuildings are to be delivered “methanol-ready” in 2028. However, the dual-fuel tankers are also reportedly equipped with scrubbers so that they can continue to run on heavy fuel oil. Thanks to an optimized hull structure and various energy-saving devices on board, the highly efficient ships will also be particularly economical and consume around 30-50% less fuel than today’s ships. “We believe in the markets. What’s more, this class of ship is not overbuilt,” says Torben Kölln, Managing Director of L&B.
L&B, traditionally at home in container shipping (31 ships with 1,000 TEU-3,600 TEU), is in the process of diversifying its fleet portfolio more strongly.
At the end of 2023, the shipping company ordered up to eight shortsea coasters in equal shares from the Mangalore shipyard in India together with Dutch company Boomsma Shipping. These are units with a load capacity of 8,500 tons. The first deliveries are scheduled for fall 2025.
