Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Maritime has joined the latest wave of crude carrier orders, placing a major VLCC newbuilding programme in China as part of its broader $1.6bn fleet renewal drive.
The London-based owner has ordered six firm and up to eight conventionally fuelled VLCCs from Jiangsu New Hantong Ship Heavy Industry, marking its biggest move in the large tanker segment in years. If all options are taken, the deal would more than double Zodiac’s VLCC fleet and cement its return to the top end of the tanker market.
The contract is part of a broader run of business at Jiangsu Hantong, which has amassed 19 orders for delivery in 2028 and 2029 across VLCCs, boxships, newcastlemaxes and kamsarmaxes. Several of the deals include options, with Zodiac’s package among the yard’s largest.
Zodiac’s order also includes up to six 9,000 teu containerships, forming a multi-segment expansion programme that stretches across tankers and boxships. Deliveries are expected from the second half of 2028.
The vessels will be built with modern energy-saving technologies but retain conventional marine fuel propulsion — a route several owners continue to choose amid uncertainty surrounding future fuel pathways.
The project marks Zodiac’s first engagement with Hantong and follows a series of recent newbuild pushes by the company, including suezmaxes at Samsung Heavy Industries’ Vietnam yard and post-panamax boxships at China Merchants Jinling.
