Norwegian shuttle tanker specialist Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers has placed another shuttle tanker order at a Chinese yard， extending a long-running newbuilding programme.

The Haugesund-based owner has signed up for a 154，000 dwt unit at COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Zhoushan)， taking the total number of vessels the pair has contracted together to 14.

Financial details and delivery timing for the latest vessel have not been disclosed.

The 279 m newbuild will be classed by DNV， feature a DP2 dynamic positioning system and a bow-loading setup.

The latest contract continues a partnership that has already seen multiple shuttle tankers delivered from the Zhoushan yard. Several more vessels from the series are scheduled for delivery between 2026 and 2028.

KNOT was formed in 2010 as a joint venture between Norway’s Knutsen OAS Shipping and Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha following NYK’s acquisition of a 50% stake in Knutsen’s shuttle tanker fleet.

Today， the company is widely regarded as the world’s leading independent shuttle tanker operator. Including ships under construction， the Knutsen-controlled shuttle tanker fleet now numbers close to 40 vessels， with a significant portion owned by the New York-listed affiliate KNOT Offshore Partners. KNOT retains about a 30% stake in the partnership and continues to manage the fleet under long-term commercial and technical agreements.