The terminated agreement concerned the supply of four 50,000-tonne MR product tankers
Beijing – Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, China’s leading private shipyard, has cancelled a $180 million order for the construction of four tankers. The decision came after discovering that the buyer was allegedly involved in a complex attempt to evade sanctions imposed by the United States.
The terminated agreement concerned the supply of four 50,000-tonne MR product tankers, with deliveries scheduled between 2026 and 2027. Work on the first unit had just begun. Yangzijiang justified the termination with the “disclosure of critical information” by the client, which emerged after an initial due diligence, indicating that the buyer’s sole shareholder was implementing a scheme to circumvent U.S. sanctions regulations.
The builder, while not specifying the exact nature of the sanctions (likely related to oil shipments from countries like Russia or Iran), highlighted the legal risk and framed the action as an early termination of the contract caused by “subsequent illegality” in the payment obligations. From a financial perspective, the company stated that the cancellation will not have a significant impact on its balance sheets, having already collected an initial deposit and an installment for a total of over $22 million. The episode confirms the growing pressure and increased scrutiny on the Chinese shipping sector at a time of high commercial tension with Washington.
