K Line Orders Three Malaccamax VLCCs at Japan's Nihon Shipyard
The 311,000 dwt ships are the owner's first comparable VLCC investment in a decade
Japanese shipping major Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha has returned to the VLCC newbuilding market with an order for three 311,000 dwt ships at compatriot Nihon Shipyard. The company confirmed the contracts on Friday, with deliveries scheduled from 2029 onwards.
The ships measure 339.5 metres in length and 60 metres in beam, built to a malaccamax design aimed at crude trades between the Middle East and Asia through the Strait of Malacca. The owner described the trio as next-generation, fuel-efficient vessels. Pricing and propulsion details have not been disclosed.
The order marks a return after a long absence. K Line's last comparable publicly announced VLCC investment came a decade ago, a gap that reflects both the caution of Japanese owners toward crude tanker exposure and the availability of long-term charter cover from domestic refiners.
The malaccamax dimensions are the operative detail. At 60 metres in beam and drawing to the limit of the Strait of Malacca, the design is optimised for the Middle East to Far East run rather than for flexibility across other routes, which points to employment tied to Asian refinery intake rather than to spot trading.
Ordering into 2029 delivery slots also places the ships beyond the current regulatory horizon. Owners committing to conventional propulsion for delivery at the end of the decade are taking a position on how quickly and how expensively carbon compliance costs will arrive, a calculation that has kept a number of tanker owners out of the newbuilding market entirely.
Japanese yard capacity for tonnage of this size is limited, and Nihon Shipyard, the joint venture marketing arm serving Imabari and Japan Marine United, has been among the few domestic routes to VLCC berths for owners unwilling to order in Korea or China.
