Chinese shipbuilding company Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has canceled contracts for the construction of four MR tankers worth approximately $180 million. This happened after data was discovered indicating that the buyer might have been involved in schemes to circumvent US sanctions. This was reported by UNN with reference to a post by the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak.
Details
In a stock exchange filing, Yangzijiang stated that the contracts were concluded by three of its subsidiaries and were terminated after information, previously unknown to the company despite due diligence, came to light. The vessels were scheduled for delivery in 2026–2027.
Construction of one of the tankers had already begun, and the shipbuilder had received advances totaling approximately $22.5 million. The company reported that the buyer is suspected of using a network of related parties to circumvent US sanctions.
Grateful to the US for the sanctions. They work and will certainly have an impact on buyers of Russian energy resources if this industry is hit.