Kitanihon Shipbuilding, now under a restoration of its yard after the catastrophic earthquake in northeastern Japan, inked six 19,800-dwt chemical tankers from Zodiac Maritime Agencies of England.
Kitanihon, with four sisterships from Zodiac new ordered in 2007-2008, plans to deliver a total of 10 series of chemical tankers from June 2012 to August 2014.
This is the first newbuilding chemical tanker order to be disclosed from Japanese shipyards since global financial crisis in 2008.
Kitanihon resumed winning chemical tankers in about three and a half year, which was discontinued after contracting Zodiac's 19,000-dwt in 2008, in the mean time, it had secured reefer and bulker newbuildings.