The tanker shipping company Euronav, in future part of the Saverys Group CMB.TECH, has ordered two bitumen tankers in China.
The two ships will be built by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Yangzhou). They are expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2026 and have already been chartered out to a “strong customer” for ten years. [ds_preview]
The ships will be equipped with dual-fuel engines that can also use “green” methanol as fuel. A later retrofit for the use of ammonia is also possible, the company announced.
There are 230 bitumen tankers worldwide with an average age of 15 years. These primarily transport asphalt at a temperature of 250° C. The carrying capacity of the ships ordered is 17,000 tons, which is roughly twice as much as the average of 8,000 tons in the existing fleet.
Saverys family further expands Euronav fleet
Following the complete takeover of Euronav and the planned integration into CMB.TECH, the Saverys family says it wants to further diversify and decarbonize the fleet and thus become one of the pioneers of sustainable shipping.
The Belgian company recently announced the construction of the world’s first ammonia-powered container ship in collaboration with NCL and Yara. Together with the charter agreements now concluded for the two new bitumen tankers, it is said that Euronav is guaranteed a charter income of almost 2 billion dollars.
“In the past few months, we have concluded a total of 55 years of time charter contracts. This proves that our customers are willing to work with Euronav and CMB.TECH to develop future-proof solutions for the shipping industry,” says Alexander Saverys, CEO of Euronav.
