George Procopiou is pressing ahead with large crude carrier expansion, booking four VLCC newbuildings at China’s Hengli Shipyard in a deal valued at up to $600m. The latest order has been placed by Dynacom Tankers Management and covers four 306,000 dwt crude carriers, worth between $400m and $600m, according to a stock exchange filing by Hengli’s parent company, Songfa Ceramics. The ships are scheduled for delivery from the second half of 2028. Hengli Shipbuilding confirmed that contracts covering the four VLCCs, along with one LR2 crude/product tanker, had taken effect on January 15. The announcement was made as part of a wider five-ship package. The LR2, a 114,000 dwt unit, has been contracted for between $70m and $100m, with delivery expected in the second quarter of 2027. The buyer was described as a well-known European owner. Market sources say Dynacom has now booked a total of 12 VLCCs at the Dalian-based yard, underlining Procopiou’s growing commitment to Hengli as a core builder for his tanker fleet. The owner has been a regular at the yard. Dynacom previously picked up VLCC newbuildings at Hengli Heavy Industries, adding to earlier contracts. The 306,000 dwt vessels were originally ordered by Hengli Group for its own account and later resold to Dynacom at prices of around $118m per ship, with deliveries in 2026 and 2027. Across the wider Procopiou group, fleet growth has been aggressive. Dynacom Tankers Management controls close to 70 tankers and has more than 50 vessels on order across Chinese yards, including New Times, Dalian and Hengli. The group’s dry bulk arm, Sea Traders, has also been active, recently booking 10 kamsarmax bulkers at Hengli. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsGreece