A Chinese shipyard and charterer have been named as the mystery parties in a letter of intent (LOI) for five very large ethane carriers (VLECs) worth an estimated $650m.

Yard sources say the 85,000-cbm vessels, which have been pencilled in by Germany’s Hartmann Schiffahrts Gmbh & Co KG, Luxemburg-based Jaccar Holdings and HB Hunte Engineering, will be built at Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering (SOE) against long-term charter contracts with ambitious gas shipping player Oriental Energy.

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