The ships are for delivery in mid-2017 and have been designed by Salt Ship Design but customised to the requirements of Toisa and its fleet manager, Sealion Shipping.

The QWHI yard was chosen on the basis of a long history of mutual co-operation between Sealion/Toisa and QWHI parent company, Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group, according to the company.

The newly inked vessels are costing around $60m each.