Steel cutting has commenced on a 155,500-dwt crude oil tanker designed for dual-fuel operation at its facility in Jiangsu Province, China.

The vessel is being built for Poppy Marine c/o Maran Tankers Management.

The steel cutting ceremony for the vessel, bearing builder's hull number 0315848, took place on 22 December, with representatives from the shipyard, the Maran site team, and classification society American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) in attendance.

With a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of 155,500 tonnes, the tanker falls within the Aframax segment, which generally covers vessels of around 80,000 to 120,000 tonnes deadweight, with larger units of up to about 160,000 tonnes also commonly included.

The dual-fuel capability will allow the vessel to operate on either conventional marine fuels or liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Based in Athens, Greece, Maran Tankers Management (MTM) is the oil tanker shipping division of the Angelicoussis Shipping Group. Established in 1992, it specializes in managing oil tankers, providing technical management, chartering, crewing, and HSQE services.