Bulker giant Polish Steamship Co (Polsteam) has kicked off a new five-year fleet renewal and expansion programme by booking four newbuildings at Yangfan Group in China.

Polsteam spokesman Krzysztof Gogol says the company has inked the 39,000-dwt ships at the Zhejiang-based shipbuilder for delivery in early 2016.

No price for the Deltamarin-designed handysizes has been disclosed, but market players estimate the ships to cost between $22m and $23m apiece.

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