Benelux Overseas adds two more 48,000 cbm gas carriers at Huangpu Wenchong

Athens-based Benelux Overseas has been linked to a two-ship, 48,000 cu m LPG carrier order at China's Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding, its third deal at the CSSC-affiliated yard in under two years and the latest step in a gas carrier expansion that now spans two countries and three ship sizes.

Huangpu Wenchong has confirmed the contract through China Shipbuilding Trading, identifying the customer only as a European shipowner. Shipbuilding sources named the buyer as Benelux Overseas, controlled by Kostas Angelou. Pricing and delivery dates remain undisclosed — a gap worth noting, because every public number in this owner's recent history suggests these are not cheap ships.

The newbuilds follow the yard's established 48,000 cu m design, developed by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI). Each vessel will carry three independent fully refrigerated Type A cargo tanks, capable of handling LPG and ammonia, among other cargoes. That ammonia flexibility matters commercially: it positions the tonnage for the ammonia trade most analysts expect to scale later this decade, though no charter commitments have been announced.

How did the Huangpu Wenchong relationship start?

Benelux first turned to the Chinese yard in December 2023, ordering two vessels of the same 48,000 cu m size with an option for a third. It exercised that option in March 2024. The initial pair was reported to cost around $64m apiece — roughly $128m for the duo before any extras. If the latest two-ship deal prices at a similar level, Benelux's commitment at the yard alone would approach a quarter of a billion dollars.

The first delivery from that programme, Olympios Gas, was completed in July this year, giving the owner a reference ship in the water before committing further. The new brace extends the sequence.

Is this part of a wider fleet play?

Yes, and a two-track one. Benelux has not confined itself to midsize tonnage or to China. Last December, shipbuilding sources linked the company to a $240m order for two 93,000 cu m very large ammonia carriers at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea, with deliveries scheduled for 2028. At $120m per hull, those VLACs cost nearly double the reported price of the midsize pair — a measure of how sharply capital requirements rise with cargo capacity.

The Korean connection is older still. Benelux contracted a pair of 40,000 cu m gas carriers at HD Hyundai Mipo in 2021, predating its move into Chinese yards by more than two years.

The pattern is clear: a midsize core built partly in China at competitive cost, and a push into larger ammonia-capable tonnage in Korea. What remains unsaid is just as telling — no charterers, no employment strategy and no delivery schedule have been disclosed for the newest pair, leaving the commercial rationale to be inferred from the design's ammonia capability alone.

For shipyards, the order confirms Huangpu Wenchong's ability to win repeat business from quality Greek tonnage buyers against Korean competition. For the LPG and ammonia trades, it adds incrementally to a midsize orderbook that owners keep extending — a signal that at least some operators expect cargo to be there when these ships hit the water.