Carisbrooke converts options

A $45 million order from UK shipowner Carisbrooke Shipping for three new vessels will keep the Port Weller Dry Docks shipyard in Ontario, Canada, in full employment for the next two years. The deal covers three of the four options of the contract announced last October that included two hulls and two 6,500 DWT Jumbo 1A Class general cargo vessels for use in the European market.

Scheduled for delivery in 2007, these multi-purpose short-sea newbuildings are the result of a strategic alliance between the Canadian yard and Peters Kampen Shipyards of The Netherlands.