Bahri Has Nine Ships on Order in Saudi Arabia. The Three New VLCCs Arrive From 2029

Saudi Arabia's shipbuilding localisation effort now has three very large oil tankers attached to a signed commercial contract.

Bahri and International Maritime Industries have agreed on the construction of three Very Large Crude Carriers at IMI's Saudi facility for approximately SAR1.692 billion.

Each vessel will have a deadweight capacity of 320,000 tonnes.

The contract is real today. The ships are not.

Delivery is scheduled between 2029 and 2030

IMI is expected to deliver the three vessels in phases between 2029 and 2030.

Until then, the agreement represents contracted future shipbuilding work rather than additional operating capacity inside Bahri's current fleet.

That distinction matters when measuring how quickly Saudi maritime localisation is converting into physical vessels.

Bahri now has nine vessels contracted for construction in Saudi Arabia

Bahri says the latest order brings the number of vessels it has contracted to be built in the Kingdom since the beginning of 2026 to nine.

That includes six Ultramax bulk carriers and the three new VLCCs.

The orderbook therefore provides a broader measure of domestic shipbuilding demand than the three-tanker contract on its own.

These are large crude carriers, not small localisation projects

At 320,000 deadweight tonnes each, the vessels sit in the Very Large Crude Carrier category used for moving substantial oil cargoes over long international routes.

Bahri says the vessels will include advanced energy-efficiency technology as part of its fleet-modernisation strategy.

The contract therefore combines domestic manufacturing policy with replacement and expansion of commercial shipping capacity.

IMI's headline annual capacity is also a future operating state

Saudi Press Agency says that once IMI's Ras Al-Khair shipyard is fully operational, it will be capable of building more than 40 vessels and six offshore drilling rigs annually.

It will also be able to provide maintenance and repair services for as many as 250 vessels and 15 drilling rigs each year.

Those figures describe the shipyard's intended full operating capability rather than evidence that all of that annual capacity is already being achieved today.

A domestic orderbook matters before the yard reaches full scale

Large industrial facilities need predictable demand as well as physical infrastructure.

Orders from Bahri create contracted work that can support supplier development, workforce planning and the wider maritime supply chain while IMI scales its operations.

That makes the nine-vessel Saudi orderbook an important industrial indicator even before the ships are delivered.

Local construction does not mean every component will be Saudi-made

Building the vessels at IMI establishes the location of final ship construction.

The announcements do not provide a component-by-component local-content breakdown.

Engines, specialist systems, steel, electronics and other equipment may involve domestic and international suppliers.

The depth of localisation should therefore be measured separately from the physical location of the shipyard.

What Arabian Current is watching

Watch construction milestones, local supplier participation, workforce growth, launch dates and the first commercial voyages after delivery.

The next meaningful state change is when Saudi-built VLCCs move from contract documents into the water.