Petredec announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Fortitude Shipping Pte Ltd (“Fortitude”) is expanding its fleet with the addition of up to four ethane/ethylene capable handy-size vessels with a carrying capacity of 24,000 cubic metres. Fortitude has agreed a contract with Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co. Ltd. (“CIMC SOE”) for the construction of two handy-size 24,000 cbm vessels delivering in March and July 2026, with the option to build a further two units. The vessels will be built to Fortitude’s industry-leading specification with a higher cargo intake, a marked reduction in consumption and will be fitted with an exhaust gas cleaning system and a shaft generator. The order further reduces the average age of Fortitude’s ethane/ethylene-capable fleet that is already the youngest and most fuel-efficient within the sector.

Petredec Chief Executive Giles Fearn commented:
“Petredec is delighted to establish a relationship with CIMC SOE and to consolidate Fortitude’s leading market share by expanding its ethane/ethylene-capable fleet. The ethane/ethylene sector is well positioned to benefit from the favourable fundamental tailwinds of strong, visible export capacity expansion in the U.S. Gulf Coast and restricted fleet growth over the next five years.”

Vice President of CIMC ENRIC, CEO of CIMC SOE Mr Gao Wenbao commented: “Petredec has a long, successful history of building high quality vessels in China and we are delighted that they have placed their trust in CIMC SOE to build this latest series of ethane/ethylene-capable 24,000 cbm handy-size vessels. We look forward to working closely with Petredec to deliver vessels that we are certain will become the industry benchmark in terms of quality and performance.”

This latest order continues Petredec’s tradition to name their vessels after the winners of two of the most famous horse races in the world, namely the Epsom Derby and the Grand National, as well as expanding the “E” Class theme which denotes ethane/ethylene capability. The first two vessels will be named EMBLEMATIC, which won the Grand National in 1864, and the second vessel will be named ELEANOR, which won the Epsom Derby in 1801.

Source: Petredec