Sweden’s Veritas Tankers has been identified as the buyer behind an order for as many as six chemical tankers at China’s Nantong Rainbow Offshore & Engineering Equipment, Splash 247 reported. The potential package covers 13,000 dwt vessels with stainless steel tanks and carries a maximum value of $248m, but the owner’s involvement remains publicly unconfirmed.
Jiangsu Rainbow Heavy Industries, the shipyard’s Shenzhen-listed parent, disclosed the agreement with an unnamed European customer in a stock exchange filing. It valued the full six-vessel package, including options, at CNY1.5bn–CNY1.65bn, equivalent to $225m–$248m. Rainbow said commercial confidentiality prevented it from naming the customer; Splash cited shipbroking sources identifying the buyer as Rederi AB Veritas Tankers.
The number of ships covered by firm commitments has not been disclosed, nor has the division between firm orders and optional vessels. According to the Chinese group, deliveries are due to start 28 months after the contract is signed. The ships are designed for parcel chemical trades, with specifications intended to accommodate restricted waterways and the operating conditions found in northern Europe.
The agreement brings another European customer to Rainbow’s chemical tanker business. Nantong Rainbow previously won an order from Germany’s John T. Essberger comprising two firm 13,000 dwt stainless steel chemical tankers, alongside options for four more. Deliveries under that separate programme are scheduled to begin in 2027, according to Splash’s account.
Splash first covered the Essberger programme in September 2024, describing it as part of the German owner’s fleet renewal and investment in the E&S Tankers Pool, which it operates with Stolt Tankers. Veritas, meanwhile, operates five chemical tankers and has been wholly owned and controlled by Ove Johnsson since 2022. The potential six-ship package therefore exceeds its existing fleet by vessel count, though the undisclosed option structure leaves the scale of its firm commitment unclear.