Chinese shipowner Nanjing Tanker Corp (NTC) has unveiled a plan to splash $200m on a pair of VLCC newbuildings.

NTC says its freshly minted Hong Kong affiliate is ready to ink the order, but the company has not revealed which yard will build the two 320,000-dwt units.

In a filing with the Shanghai Exchange, the owner, an offshoot of state-controlled Changiang National Shipping Corp, said it expects the units to be delivered in the second-half of 2012, but NTC did not address market rumours it is mulling a move to order as many as six additional tankers.

NTC may be ready to shell-out as much as $750m on newbuildings at a domestic yard.

And brokers say that a spending spree of that magnitude could explain the "rock bottom rate" tied to the $200m tanker duo.

"$200m seems really low to me, way below the market norm, but it would make sense if they [NTC] actually has options for another two to four units," one broker said.

China's Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corp (DSIC) is widely believed to be the frontrunner in a race to grab a piece of the NTC deal, but data suggests that $100m for a tanker falls well below the market average.

Brokers say a 320,000-dwt newbuilding at a Chinese yard could cost as much as $160m or more in today's market.

But according to Clarksons, as many as eight owners have sealed VLCC deals at DSIC at rates that ring-in at about $100m.