Pacific Basin has ordered four new conventionally fuelled dry bulk carriers, citing the IMO‘s delay to adoption of its net-zero framework and a lack of appropriate designs as reasons for not taking on tonnage capable of running on alternative fuels.

The firm has signed ship purchase contracts with Jiangmen Nanyang Ship Engineering Co to acquire four 40,000 dwt Handysize newbuilding vessels for about $119.2 million, it said in a statement on its website.

The ships are due for delivery in the first half of 2028.

“The Company has on this occasion opted for vessels of conventionally-powered, single-fuel design, mainly due to the lack of proven dual-fuel Handysize designs and the postponement in October 2025 of the International Maritime Organization’s adoption of its planned Net Zero Framework and global measures to drive the shipping industry’s transition to green fuels and green ships,” Pacific Basin said.

The IMO was expected to adopt its net-zero framework at an extraordinary session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee in October, but opted instead to delay a vote on the framework by a year after significant opposition emerged. The framework would have set progressively tougher GHG intensity thresholds for marine energy consumption from 2028 onwards in a bid to encourage a shift to greener fuels.