Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (SWS), a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), has delivered the 158,000 DWT crude oil tanker Sea Phoenix to Frontline after a signing ceremony on 17 November in Shanghai, reports Port News.
Shanghai Waigaoqiao Unveils “Sea Phoenix”
The Sea Phoenix is the first 158,000 DWT crude oil tanker it has built for Frontline, is classed by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), and was independently designed by the shipyard. SWS stated that the delivery “opens a new chapter” in its construction of 158,000 DWT crude oil tankers, marking the start of a series in this segment.
The Sea Phoenix has a deadweight of 158,000 tonnes, an overall length of 274.2 m, a beam of 48.0 m, a depth of 23.4 m, a design draft of 16.0 m and a service speed of 14.2 knots. The vessel is powered by a MAN B&W 6G70ME-C10.5 main engine and is designed to meet IMO Tier III NOₓ emission requirements. Commercial orderbook data describe the Sea Phoenix as a Suezmax-class crude tanker with cargo tank capacity of about 167,000 m³, aligned with SWS’s standard 158,000 DWT Suezmax design.
Earlier in construction, on 12 August 2025 the Sea Phoenix, identified as hull H1584, undocked at SWS alongside the 9,000-car PCTC Grande Melbourne for the Grimaldi Group, in the presence of representatives from Frontline, Grimaldi, RINA and ABS. SWS reported that by August 2025 it had delivered 600 merchant vessels and offshore units, surpassing 100 million DWT of cumulative output.
The Sea Phoenix will join Frontline’s fleet, which as of 31 December 2024 comprised 41 VLCCs, 22 Suezmax tankers and 18 LR2/Aframax tankers. Industry data cited in the text indicate that interests controlled by Frontline’s chairman John Fredriksen have three 158,000 DWT Suezmax tankers on order at SWS and three 115,000 DWT product tankers at New Times Shipbuilding. These were ordered between 2022 and 2023 as scrubber-fitted, conventionally fuelled vessels.
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Source: Port News
