Third Novoship Suezmax laid down

Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries in China has laid down the keel of the third in a series of six 156,000 DWT Suezmax crude oil tanker for Novoship OJSC. The vessels are being built within the framework of the company?s fleet renovation program. The vessel will be named NS Breeze.

Metal cutting for the sixth tanker of the series started in the middle of March. The 274m long, 48m wide newbuildings have a draught of 17m and a service speed of 15.1 knots. The are classed by Lloyd’s Register.

The construction is to be completed by the end of this year and, in addition, Novoship will get four more Aframax tankers bringing Novoship’s fleet to a total of 55 modern vessels aggregating 3.7 million DWT. At present there are 14 new vessels on order representing 1.4 million deadweight tonnes to be delivered by the end of 2010.