Norwegian owner Klaveness Combination Carriers (KCC) has firmed up a deal for the construction of three Cabu vessels in China.

  The Oslo-listed firm， with eight Cabu and eight Cleanbu combination carriers， has concluded a shipbuilding agreement with Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding following a letter of intent in May.

  The newbuilds come at $56.4m per vessel， with an estimated delivered cost including zero-emission readiness and costs for the shipyard supervision team， taking the price tag to $60.5m per unit. Delivery is set for 2026 and the equity portion of the investment is fully funded， partly through a private placement of NOK550m ($51m) in May.

  KCC said the vessels will position the company for predicted increased caustic soda import volumes to Australia as well as reaching its targets of a 45% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030 compared to its actual 2018 performance. When compared to earlier Cabu vessels built in 2001 and 2002， newbuild replacements are expected to have a 25 to 30% higher earnings capacity and around 35% reduced CO2 emissions due to improved cargo carrying capacity and lower fuel consumption.