Navigazione Montanari Orders Two LR2 Product Tankers at Hengli Heavy Industry via Pemont
Key Takeaways
- ā¢Navigazione Montanari has contracted two LR2 product tankers at Hengli Heavy Industry through its Malta-based affiliate Pemont, marking a new shipbuilding partnership with the Dalian yard.
- ā¢The Italian owner's return to the newbuilding market in 2024, when it ordered MR1 vessels at Yangzijiang, ended a hiatus in newbuild contracting that had lasted since 2006.
- ā¢If constructed to Hengli's standard LR2 design of approximately 114,000 deadweight tonnes, the new vessels would become the largest ships in Pemont's current fleet.
- ā¢Hengli Heavy Industry, operating from the reactivated former STX Dalian complex, has been steadily accumulating LR2 orders from international clients including Greek owners Arcadia Shipmanagement and Thenamaris.
Italian tanker owner Navigazione Montanari is accelerating its fleet renewal programme with an order for two LR2 product tankers at China's Hengli Heavy Industry.
LR2 (Long Range 2) tankers are among the largest vessels in the refined petroleum products carrier segment, typically deployed on long-haul routes connecting major refining centres with consuming markets.
The vessels were booked through the company's Malta-based affiliate Pemont, establishing a new shipbuilding relationship with the rapidly expanding Dalian yard. Contract price, delivery timelines, and propulsion specifications have not been disclosed. Hengli's standard LR2 design has a deadweight of approximately 114,000 tonnes.
Hengli Heavy Industry operates from the former STX Dalian shipyard complex, reactivated under Hengli Group ownership and positioning itself as one of China's newest large-scale commercial shipbuilding entrants.
This latest order follows Montanari's return to the newbuilding market in 2024, when the Fano-headquartered owner contracted 41,000 dwt MR1 vessels at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, scheduled for delivery in 2027. Those were the company's first reported newbuild orders since 2006.
Montanari has simultaneously been consolidating ownership of its existing tonnage. In 2023, the company exercised purchase options on eight product tankers built in 2007 and 2008 that had previously been sold and leased back under sale-and-charterback arrangements. The fleet was further reinforced last year with the addition of younger MR-class units.
Pemont's current fleet consists predominantly of older tonnage. The company lists nine tankers delivered between 2007 and 2009, while external fleet databases record 10 ships totalling approximately 635,000 dwt.
The two Hengli newbuilds will substantially expand the group's fleet renewal programme. If constructed to the yard's standard LR2 specification, they would become the largest vessels in the Pemont fleet.
Hengli Heavy Industry has been steadily accumulating LR2 orders throughout the year, with Greek shipowners Arcadia Shipmanagement and Thenamaris among the most recent clients to contract the tanker type at the Dalian facility.
Source: Splash247
