Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) has won a bid to purchase, build, and operate four 98,000 cubic meter VLECs for China-based Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical (STL), the company said in its release. The vessels will be carrying ethane from the US Gulf Coast to Shenzhen-listed STL’s plant in Lianyungang, China. All four VLECs will feature dual fuel ethane propulsion which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions when compared to conventional marine fuels.
The VLECs will be built at South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries and are scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2022.