Tanker Giants

[portagent]

For delivery up to March 2008 STX Shipyard of South Korea will build three ULCC*)tanker of 510.000 dwt each for an unnamed Italian customer. Further details were not reported.

*)Ultra Large Crude (Oil)Carrier
Source: THB, Germany

Perhaps our friends

[Phil English]

This must be incorrect. STX cannot build ships larger than panamax size and their berths are committed through 2008.

Who are "THB"? They clearly do not know their stuff.

Phil

[Phil English]

Actually, I've just realised that this must refer to an order for 3 x 51,000 dwt (not 510,000 dwt) tankers that Italian owner Pietro Barbaro has recently placed at the yard.

THB, whoever they are, really ought to check their facts.

Phil

[portagent]

... thought I made a typing error, but in fact article shows 510.000 tons. Assume they will correct their mistake
within short. Reverting.
THB stands for "T

[Mats]

Must be a typo. First, STX cannot build them. Their dock can only build vessels up to 250.000 dwt and they only build vessels of 30.000-80.000 dwt.

Second, there appears to be consensus in the business that noone will need tankers this big in the forseeable future. Apart from the four 440.000 dwt tankers built at Daewoo for Hellespont and now managed by Tankers International, no vessels of more than 400.000 dwt have been built since 1981.

Would have been nice to see some 510.000 dwt newbuilds, though...

Merry Christmas!

Best regards
Mats
Oslo

[Roel Van de Velde]

Hello,
I've sailed on those Hellesponts, well, last year they were sold. They are 442,000dwt and 509,000t full load. I've posted some pictures of Ti Europe, which is the ex-Hellespont Tara.
There were 4 of them, all sold in August 2004. Now they sail under Tankers International.
I don't know why Hellespont sold all 4 of them at once.
It was reported that Hellespont had ordered a new 4,000,000 barrel ULCC (for comparison, the Ti/Hellespont ULCCs are 3.2 million barrels). So basically a new 510,000 dwt one would be possible if it's this ship? But I'm not sure where they ordered it.

[Eren Topcu]

I hope that it is longer than 400 meters....

[Phil English]

Don't get excited. Any reports of recent ULCC newbuilding contracts are completely groundless and there is very little prospect of any in the forseeable future.

[Eren Topcu]

If only Sea Giant would not scrap...also Kapetan Michalis

Won't I be able to see an ULCC anymore longer 400 meters and has deadweight over 500.000 tons ??

[Phil English]

In short, no........