Pangaea Logistics Solutions has placed an order with Chinese shipbuilder Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) for two post-panamax 95,000dwt dry bulk carriers.
The contract has a clause to place orders for an additional two vessels with GSI.
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To be built at a cost of around $38m each, the new ships are Pangaea’s first new shipbuilding contracts in China.
Once the ships are delivered in the first half of 2021, Pangaea Logistics will deploy them to serve its new ten-year contract with Baffinland Iron Mines in the Canadian Arctic.
The new vessels will also be used to serve old and new customers wishing to use the ships to expand trade routes in high northern latitudes.
Pangaea Logistics Solutions CEO Ed Coll said: “We work closely with all of our customers. Our relationship with Baffinland is special because of the extra challenges presented with high arctic shipping.
“The cargo contract, requiring the building of at least two new vessels with Ice Class 1A classification, marks a significant step forward in our leadership in the ice class part of our business.
“Our ships are custom-designed for the ice trades our Nordic Bulk Carriers subsidiary has developed over the past decade.”
The new ships will comply with all Polar Code requirements for safety and environmental demands.
Baffinland Iron Mines president and CEO Brian Penney said: “At Baffinland, we have major expansion plans in place and look to significantly expand our supply chain capabilities to support those plans.”
Pangaea Logistics Solutions offers logistics services for the transportation of dry bulk cargoes, including grains, pig iron, hot briquetted iron, bauxite, alumina, cement clinker, dolomite, and limestone.
