Indian shipbuilding company Swan Defence and Heavy Industries (SDHI) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Norwegian ship owner Rederiet Stenersen for the construction of six 18,000 DWT IMO Type II chemical tankers.
The agreement is valued at approximately $220 million and includes an option for an additional six vessels.
The vessels will be built at SDHI's facility in Pipavav, Gujarat, and are scheduled to be designed by Marinform of Norway and classed by DNV.
Each ship will be built to Ice Class 1A standards and will feature a hybrid propulsion system with automation for improved manoeuvrability and operational flexibility, SDHI noted.
According to the builder, the tankers are "future-ready," with a design that allows for future conversion to methanol or LNG fuel. The design also includes provisions to upgrade the battery capacity up to 5,000 kWh.
Vivek Merchant, Director at SDHI, remarked that this would be the company’s first major export of advanced chemical tankers to Norway. Rederiet Stenersen owns and operates a fleet of 19 chemical/product tankers, primarily trading in Northern Europe.