Chinese shipyard wins order for bunker vessel duo from Sogestran after two-year tender

French shipping company Sogestran Group recently said it has selected China Merchants Industry Yangzhou Dingheng Shipyard to build two new bunker vessels for long-time partner Petroineos. 

Partners for over 34 years, Petroineos and Sogestran’s subsidiary Maritima are renewing their fleet dedicated to bunkering operations in the Fos, Marseille, and Toulon areas, reaffirming their local presence in the south of France.

Petroineos and Maritima will commission vessels for conventional bunkering and ready to supply low carbon fuels – B24, B100, HVO, e-Methanol. 

The new bunker vessels will replace the current units – Florence B, Tatiana B, and Cap Pinede.

Their design has been specifically developed to optimise access to the Petroineos refinery jetties in Lavera. Each vessel will have a cargo capacity of 4,500 m³.

They will feature diesel-electric propulsion, powered by three electronically managed generator sets that adjust consumption to the vessel’s operational needs – a technical choice particularly well suited for ships operating over relatively short distances, and already adopted by Sogestran Group for the Pointe de Caux, launched in 2022.

The vessels will be equipped with two electric azimuth thrusters at the stern and a bow tunnel thruster, ensuring optimal manoeuvrability.

They will also be fitted with shore power connections and mass flow meters for quantity delivery monitoring. 

Located on the Yangtze River, about 250 km from Shanghai, the shipyard specialises in vessels designed for the transport of oil and chemical products.

The designer of the bunker vessels is Deltamarin Shanghai. Steel cutting for the first vessel is scheduled for November 2026, with launch in 2027 and delivery in early 2028.

Photo credit: Sogestran Group
Published: 16 October, 2025