Chinese ethane buyer Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical (STL) has taken on the ownership of six very large ethane carrier (VLEC) newbuildings originally booked at two South Korean shipyards by US company Delos Shipping.
One shipping source said: “Both Hyundai and Samsung have kept the berth slots because STL needs the vessels to transport ethane from the US into China.”
But industry sources have now said that STL has had to make a down payment of 10% to guarantee the slots for the 93,000-cbm VLECs.
