Page 44: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2026)

SHIPBUILDING MARKETS

Digital rendering of a 154,000dwt shuttle tanker ordered by AET of Singapore and speci? ed with ethanol-ready main propulsion plus a battery bank for peak shaving.

Knutsen NYK Offshore

Tankers (KNOT) has multiple Suezmax-size shuttle tankers on order in China. The 152,700 dwt

Tuva Knutsen is a Chinese- built unit of the ? eet dating from 2021.

Source: KNOT Source: DSIC Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co third-of-class was expected in the 2026 third quarter. while signi? cantly reducing CO2 and SOx emissions.

Re? ecting the particular operational, technological and reg- The hybrid electric propulsion element conferred by incor- ulatory edicts that impose a high threshold for market entry, porating batteries will allow for peak shaving of sudden elec- the number of players engaged in the o? shore loader business tric load ? uctuations during dynamic positioning, enabling the is few. Against this backcloth, the Angelicoussis Group has main engines to be run at a constant, optimum speed. recently emerged as a major force. Having shown its intent The assignment of the latest phase of ? eet development to a Chi- by awarding a three-ship shuttle tanker order to Daehan Ship- nese yard follows the company’s award of two LNG dual-fuel Su- building of South Korea in early 2024, the Greek organiza- ezmax shuttle tankers to Samsung Heavy Industries in late 2025. tion acquired Altera Shuttle Tankers and its 18-strong ? eet in DSIC ? rst demonstrated Chinese shipbuilding’s capabil-

January 2025, rebranding the entity as Maran Shuttle Tankers. ity to make the transition from large crude oil carriers to the

The design legacy embodied in the former Altera vessels re- highly specialized shuttle tanker domain by delivering the ? ects predecessor Teekay O? shore, which had been a leading 155,000dwt DP-equipped NS Pioneer to China National O? - light in shuttle tanker development. The trio of 154,000dwt shore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) in 2023. The self-reliance

DP2 Korean newbuilds is due to be completed between No- expressed in the home-grown design and construction project vember 2026 and May 2027, for assignment on long-term is claimed to extend to certain Chinese intellectual property charter to Petrobras. rights. NS Pioneer was followed out of Dalian a year later by

Singapore-domiciled AET, part of Malaysian group MISC sistership NS Explorer. Both vessels were assigned from the

Berhad, deploys some 17 DP shuttle tankers in Brazilian outset to liftings from Brazilian deepwater o? shore ? elds.

and Norwegian o? shore waters, and has this year ordered a Prominent deep-sea crude carrier operator China Merchants 154,000dwt DP2-class newbuild from Dalian Shipbuilding In- Energy Shipping (CMES) is also adding another string to its dustry Co (DSIC). Due for delivery in 2028, and ? xed on long- bow by entering the shuttle tanker segment, and has selected term charter, the vessel is distinguished by the nomination of eth- DSIC to realize its opening gambit. The deal struck in the clos- anol-ready, dual-fuel propulsion and an energy storage system. ing stages of 2025 calls for construction of a DP2-class Suezmax

While AET already o? ers a dual-fuel capability across-the- shuttle tanker, to be delivered by the end of September 2028 to board, the addition of hybrid propulsion further broadens lower- CMES subsidiary Associated Maritime Company (Hong Kong). emissions optionality for customers. The rationale for including An option on a second ship is appended to the contract. In- ethanol within the prospective fuel range of the newbuild is that dustry sources suggest that the vessels will be tied to o? shore this o? ers a relatively high energy density as a renewable fuel operations in South America under long-term charter.

44 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • August 2026

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