Union Maritime adds two tankers to Dalian six-ship program

By Tom Whitfield

Union Maritime has added two 24,200-dwt product tankers at China’s Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore Co. (DSOC), lifting its order program at the yard from four ships to six and extending scheduled deliveries through 2028.

Union Maritime’s updated fleet list identifies the additions as hulls PC24K-5 and PC24K-6. Both are scheduled for 2028 delivery. The company has not disclosed a contract value for either vessel, so the estimated $120m value of the original program cannot be applied to the expanded order.

How is the six-ship program phased?

Union Maritime placed its original four-ship contract with the restructured Dalian yard in January 2025. Each vessel was estimated at about $30m, putting the initial program at roughly $120m. Its current schedule divides the six hulls across three delivery years:

• Three vessels from the January 2025 order are scheduled for 2026.
• The fourth vessel from that order is scheduled for 2027.
• Hulls PC24K-5 and PC24K-6 are scheduled for 2028.

The staggered timetable spreads commercial decisions across three delivery years rather than requiring all six ships to enter service together. It also concentrates the program at one yard, making delivery performance at the restructured facility a shared execution point.

What changes for charterers and shippers?

For charterers, shippers and forwarders, the disclosed schedule sets no delivery before 2026, while the two latest ships are due in 2028. No charter coverage, trade route, loading port or cargo commitment accompanied the order. The announcement therefore offers no basis for calculating lane capacity, port calls or freight-rate relief.

Union Maritime does gain a defined pipeline of six 24,200-dwt product tankers. If the schedule holds, their nominal 145,200 dwt becomes available for commercial deployment in stages rather than as one block. That total does not mean 145,200 dwt will appear on any single route, because no trading pattern was disclosed.

No charter rate, utilization rate or capacity percentage accompanied the order, so there is no defensible basis for assuming lower freight costs. The practical issue for forwarders is where each ship trades and under what terms, rather than simply how many hulls the owner has ordered.

How broad is Union Maritime’s expansion?

Union Maritime, led by Laurent Cadji, is a London-based, privately held diversified shipowner. Its website now lists 81 newbuildings, up from the 79 recorded in September, when the owner added another nine vessels across five segments.

The September additions spread across several yards and vessel classes: two newcastlemax bulkers at Wuhu, two MR product tankers at Jingjiang Nanyang, an LR2 at Guangzhou Shipyard International, a chemical tanker pair in Japan, and two handysize bulkers at Imabari. Union Maritime has also moved into large gas carriers through orders in China and South Korea.

That breadth puts the two Dalian product tankers inside a much wider newbuilding and segment-expansion program. Six product tankers without stated charter terms do not support a standalone freight-market forecast.

For owners, the orders expand deployment options; for charterers and cargo owners, they remain options until trades, cargoes and delivery dates become firm.

What should the market watch next?

Delivery execution at the restructured Dalian yard is the first test. The three 2026 ships should establish whether the yard can maintain the broader schedule, ahead of one delivery in 2027 and two in 2028. The commercial test comes later, when each delivered ship needs a trade and commercial arrangement.

Until those terms emerge, the conclusion is narrow but concrete: Union Maritime has expanded its Dalian program to six 24,200-dwt product tankers, with a 2026-2028 delivery schedule and no disclosed price for the latest pair. Watch the yard’s build slots and each ship’s eventual trading pattern; those details will determine when the order becomes usable capacity for charterers, forwarders and shippers.