Newbuild Deal Struck By Candler and Jiangzhou Shipbuilding

German multipurpose vessel (MPP) expert Candler Schiffahrt has entered into a newbuilding agreement with a revitalized shipyard in China.

The Bremen-headquartered firm has placed an order for six multipurpose vessels, each with a deadweight of 12,000 tons, at New Jiangzhou Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, with the financial details remaining confidential.

Designed by the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI), these 140-meter-long ships are engineered to comply with the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase 3 standards and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Tier III norms for reducing nitrogen oxide emissions. The timeline for their delivery remains unspecified.

The Jiangxi-based shipyard, previously known as Jiangzhou Union Shipbuilding, was relaunched last March and has since re-entered the European newbuilding scene through a contract with Dutch firm Mercurius Shipping for the construction of four chemical tankers.

Candler Schiffahrt manages a fleet of six vessels, including the 2004-built Elba, the oldest MPP in its fleet, which was reportedly sold recently to an unidentified purchaser.

In a similar move last month, another German shipowner commissioned up to eight new heavylift multipurpose vessels from a Chinese shipyard. Hamburg’s dship Carriers chose China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Nanjing for the construction of four confirmed 15,000 dwt vessels, with the first deliveries expected in 2025.