Another Chinese industrial group is moving into mainstream merchant shipbuilding， with Titan Wind Energy securing its first order for conventional crude oil tankers.

The Suzhou-based renewable energy equipment manufacturer said its wholly owned offshore engineering subsidiary had signed a contract with an undisclosed international shipowner for two firm 113，800 dwt tankers， with options for two more.

The deal is valued at approximately CNY1.874bn ($257.8m) if all four ships are confirmed. The two firm vessels account for CNY937m， with the optional pair carrying the same value.

The buyer has 30 days from signing to exercise the options.

Each tanker will measure approximately 248.8 m long， 44 m wide and 21.5 m deep. Deliveries are scheduled in stages during 2028 and 2029， with payments linked to construction progress.

Titan Wind Energy did not identify the owner， citing disclosure exemptions， but said the two companies had not completed any similar transactions during the previous three years.

The order represents the group’s first move into a mainstream tanker segment after earlier work involving floating production， storage and offloading units.

Founded in 2005， Titan Wind Energy is best known for manufacturing wind turbine towers， jackets， monopiles and other renewable energy infrastructure.

It operates production bases across Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces， as well as in Cuxhaven， Germany.

The contract adds Titan Wind Energy to the growing list of Chinese manufacturers seeking to convert offshore fabrication capabilities into commercial shipbuilding capacity as the country’s yards continue to expand their dominance of the global newbuilding market.