Four European and Canadian shipowners have teamed up on a fresh four-ship product tanker order in China, taking Furetank’s long-running Vinga series to 26 vessels.
Two of the 17,999 dwt newbuilds will go to FureBear, the 50/50 joint venture between Sweden’s Furetank and Canada’s Algoma Central Corporation. Swedish owner Älvtank is taking another, while Norway’s O.H. Meling is joining the Vinga programme for the first time.
The quartet will be built at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Yangzhou for delivery during 2028 and 2029. All four will fly the Swedish flag, enter the Gothia Tanker Alliance and be commercially managed by Furetank Chartering. No contract price has been disclosed.
For O.H. Meling, the order is also a replacement move. The Norwegian company said its two existing intermediate tankers are approaching the 20-year age threshold for trading in the European tanker market.
Älvtank, meanwhile, already owns three Vinga ships dating back to the original series and will increase its exposure to four vessels with the latest order. The company said it sees continued demand for intermediate tonnage as European liquid bulk trades shift increasingly towards biofuels, renewable feedstocks and chemicals.
The latest contracts extend a programme Splash has followed for several years.
In July 2022, Splash reported Furetank’s order for what was then the 11th Vinga-class tanker. Later that year, Furetank and Algoma doubled their FureBear joint venture programme from four to eight ships, all built at the same Yangzhou yard.
The series had reached 21 ships by February 2024, when Furetank added another two units for delivery at the end of 2026. Splash reported at the time that 19 of the 21 would be commercially managed by Furetank and 14 fully operated by the Swedish owner.
The new quartet pushes the Vinga tally to 26, more than doubling the programme from the level reported by Splash four years ago.
Developed by Furetank with FKAB Marine Design, the ice-class 1A tankers have 12 cargo tanks and can run on LNG, liquid biomethane or gasoil. The design also incorporates battery-hybrid systems and shore-power capability.
