X-Press Feeders is returning to the tanker market with an approximately US$320 million order for four 157,000-dwt suezmax newbuildings at China’s Penglai Zhongbai Jinglu Ship Industry. Scheduled for delivery in 2029 and 2030, the vessels expand the Singapore-based container feeder group’s tanker investment from individual LR2 assets into a series of larger crude carriers.

Four ships for delivery in 2029 and 2030

The Commerce Bureau of Penglai District confirmed the contract, its approximate value and the delivery schedule in an official statement dated 28 October 2026. Market reports identify Eastaway, the group’s shipowning and shipmanagement platform, as the vehicle for the investment. The four vessels represent a combined 628,000 dwt, with the disclosed contract value implying approximately US$80 million per ship. They are reported to use conventional fuel propulsion.

The project had appeared in shipbroking reports earlier in the year. Charles R. Weber’s tanker sale-and-purchase and projects report dated 1 May 2026 listed X-Press Feeders and XT against a 157,000-dwt suezmax project at Jinglu, with a “3+3” notation and a price of US$80 million per vessel. The subsequently confirmed contract covers four ships. Further details of the final partnership structure and any additional options have yet to be disclosed.

A container business with a wider asset portfolio

Founded in 1972, X-Press Feeders built its position as an independent container feeder carrier, providing regional connections for other container operators. According to its website, it operates more than 100 vessels ranging from approximately 700 to 7,000 teu, with services spanning Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. Its operating model centres on linking mainline transshipment hubs with regional ports and supplying transport capacity to other carriers.

Eastaway provides the group with a shipowning and management platform alongside that transport network. Its origins lie in an internal fleet management division established in 2012, followed by the creation of Eastaway in Singapore in 2017. The company currently describes itself as an owner and manager of containerships, with activities covering technical management, crewing, newbuilding projects and technology. Its involvement in tanker investment therefore sits within a broader asset platform whose public identity remains closely connected to container shipping.

Earlier LR2 transactions show a history in tankers

An earlier tanker connection appears in X-Press Feeders’ 2022 CSR report, which includes a photograph of Hibernian Tide, a 109,896-dwt LR2 built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding in 2019. Hartland’s weekly commentary dated 27 October 2023 subsequently recorded the vessel’s sale to Greece’s Minerva Marine for approximately US$66 million.

A clearer transaction followed in July 2025, when Eastaway sold Hesperia Tide, an approximately 115,000-dwt LR2 built by Zhoushan Changhong, to New Shipping, the private company of Greek shipowner Adam Polemis. Market reports put the price at approximately US$70 million to US$71 million. Hartland explicitly identified Eastaway as the seller and linked it to X-Press Feeders. The vessel changed hands around delivery, illustrating the group’s participation in newbuilding asset transactions.

X-Press Feeders chief executive Shmuel Yoskovitz confirmed the Hesperia Tide sale, with the vessel described at the time as a non-core asset. Its disposal marked the group’s exit from tanker ownership at that point. The new suezmax contract now brings it back with a larger commitment. Taken together, these transactions suggest a selective approach to tanker investment, with decisions to acquire, hold or sell assets made alongside the group’s continuing container operations.

Ownership offers operational and investment value

The group’s emphasis on vessel ownership also provides context for its wider investment activity. At Splash Singapore on 24 September 2026, Yoskovitz discussed the importance of controlling tonnage in a feeder network, as previously reported by Xinde Marine News. A higher proportion of owned vessels gives the company greater flexibility to deploy capacity across Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. Port congestion and schedule disruption make that control more valuable when ships must be repositioned or additional capacity is needed to maintain service frequency.

Within its container business, the group has also combined network cooperation with chartering opportunities. An official company announcement states that X-Press Feeders signed partnership and leasing agreements with COSCO SHIPPING Lines on 18 June 2025. Alongside potential cooperation on feeder services across several regions, COSCO SHIPPING Lines was given a first option to charter newbuildings from the group. The arrangement illustrates how owned tonnage can support both X-Press Feeders’ network and cooperation with another operator.

The tanker order extends this discussion into a different freight market. Ship ownership creates exposure to charter income and asset values, while a transport network depends on service coverage, customer relationships and operational execution. Eastaway’s earlier LR2 transactions and the new suezmax commitment show the group making asset decisions beyond its established feeder services. The commercial structure ultimately chosen for the four tankers will determine how that investment produces returns.

A larger commitment for both owner and yard

Moving from individual LR2 transactions to four suezmax newbuildings increases both the amount of capital committed and the time over which it must be managed. The order creates the prospect of a small fleet of larger crude carriers with similar specifications and delivery dates. A series can simplify technical and commercial planning, but its financing, charter coverage and management arrangements must be organised across the whole programme. Those decisions will shape the group’s exposure when the vessels enter service.

For Jinglu, the Penglai commerce bureau described the contract as its first suezmax order and its largest tanker contract by deadweight. The statement said the yard’s previous tanker construction had been limited to 50,000 dwt. Separate shipbroking reports have also linked Greek owner Chemnav Shipmanagement to two 158,000-dwt suezmax newbuildings at the same yard, adding another customer to its developing large-tanker business.

The decisive economics lie at delivery

With delivery scheduled for 2029 and 2030, the investment will depend on market conditions several years ahead. Crude trade patterns, tanker fleet supply, charter rates and financing costs will all influence returns. Securing employment before delivery, retaining exposure to the market after completion or selling an asset at an attractive point in the cycle would produce different cash-flow and risk profiles. The group’s previous LR2 transactions make its eventual choice particularly relevant.

Financing, charter coverage and the commercial and technical management arrangements for the four ships have yet to be publicly detailed. Their disclosure will clarify whether the project develops into a sustained operating presence in crude shipping or follows a more transactional investment approach. X-Press Feeders has already demonstrated a willingness to enter and exit tanker ownership; this time, the scale and delivery horizon make the management of that exposure a substantially larger undertaking.