Nanjing Tanker seals deal with Sinopec

Nanjing Tanker Corp signs Yuan100m ($14.5m) shipping contract with China Petrochemical Corp (Sinopec) and mulls Yuan1.08bn newbuilding order for four 24,000 dwt tankers.

The Shanghai-listed tanker and specialised vessel operator said on Friday that it has sealed a deal with Sinopec to ship at least 1m tonnes of product oil for the energy group from July to the end of this year.

Nanjing Tanker expects the new contract to reap Yuan100m in revenue and gross profits of Yuan30m to the firm.

In a separate announcement, the shipowner under China Yangtze Transportation Group said it planned to add four 24,000dwt oil tankers to its current fleet of 59 vessels with a purchase from sister company CSC Nanjing Tanker Corporation Zijinshan Shipyard. The four tankers, each costing Yuan269.8m, are expected to be delivered between 2010 and 2012.

The order, which is pending approval from shareholders, if it proceeds, will bring the number of vessels in the firm’s order book from 39 to 43, based on information from its web site. Nanjing Tanker currently has 16 very large crude carriers, 16 40,000 dwt oil tankers four chemical tankers and three asphalt carriers in its order book.