Capital Tankers locks in $930m for 11 VLCC newbuilds in China and Korea

Capital Tankers has lined up $930.3m in financing for 11 VLCC newbuildings under construction at yards in China and South Korea, the Evangelos Marinakis-backed owner confirmed, locking in funding for the bulk of its crude carrier orderbook in a single quarter.

The company signed four financing arrangements since late September, covering vessels booked at Hanwha Ocean, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co (DSIC) and Hengli Shipbuilding. It has not identified the lenders behind any of the packages.

Where does the money go?

The largest slice, $450.6m, backs five 307,000 dwt VLCCs at DSIC. Three of those vessels secured between $89.6m and $90.9m each under an October agreement; the remaining two picked up $89.6m apiece.

Capital Tankers has also arranged:

• $241.8m for three 320,000 dwt LNG dual-fuel-ready VLCCs at South Korea's Hanwha Ocean
• $237.9m for three 306,000 dwt VLCCs at Hengli in China
• $64.5m in a sale-and-leaseback for the newly delivered 155,348 dwt LNG dual-fuel suezmax Amor, built at New Times Shipbuilding and financed earlier this year

The terms differ sharply between the Korean and Chinese yards. The Hanwha package runs on a five-year repayment schedule. Both Chinese yard packages stretch over ten years. All of them carry substantial balloon payments at maturity, ranging from $39.7m to $60.9m per vessel.

The Amor leaseback, disclosed separately, runs to October 2033 and ends with a $40m final payment.

What does it mean for the crude market?

The financing wave follows Capital Tankers' $500m Oslo private placement earlier this year, which the company upsized after strong investor demand as the Marinakis group brought its crude tanker business to the public market. In other words, equity investors paid up first; debt providers are now following.

The owner has kept adding tonnage since. In June it acquired three VLCC newbuilding contracts at Hengli from parent Capital Maritime & Trading at $122m apiece, with deliveries scheduled for the second half of 2027.

Capital Tankers now controls a 33-vessel fleet: 15 VLCCs, 10 suezmaxes and eight aframax/LR2 tankers. Seventeen vessels are trading. Another 16 are due for delivery through mid-2028, and the company retains options for 13 additional crude tankers.

That delivery pipeline matters for VLCC supply. A 16-ship inflow through mid-2028, plus options on 13 more, puts Capital Tankers among the most aggressive crude fleet expanders currently funding newbuilds — at a moment when VLCC orderbook-to-fleet ratios remain historically modest across the wider market. For charterers, the added modern, partly dual-fuel-ready tonnage deepens the pool of eco-efficient ships available on long-term business. For competing owners, it adds fleet growth pressure in exactly the size segments where scarcity has supported rates.

The tenor split also tells a story. Ten-year structures on the Chinese yard packages and a leaseback running to 2033 suggest the company is matching long-dated debt against long-dated assets, betting that crude tanker earnings hold through the delivery window. Balloons of up to $60.9m per vessel leave refinancing risk sitting at maturity, but the structure keeps near-term cash demands light while 16 ships still need paying for.

With deliveries running to mid-2028 and 13 options still live, expect Capital Tankers to keep testing debt and equity markets for the next round of fleet funding.