On June 13, China Merchants Energy Shipping (“CMES” or the “Company”) released an Announcement on Construction of New Capesize bulk carriers.
The announcement disclosed that recently, Hong Kong Ming Wah Shipping Company Limited (Hong Kong Ming Wah), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CMES, and New Times Shipbuilding entered into a Vessel Construction Agreement for eight 210,000 dwt Capesize (Newcastlemax) bulk carriers, with a total cost of approximately RMB4.4 billion ( about US$606 million). The newbuildings will be equipped with desulphurization scrubbers and a number of energy-saving and environmentally friendly designs, with deliveries commencing in 2028.
CMES said that under the global carbon neutral background, ordering a new generation of energy-saving and environmentally friendly large bulk carriers is to adapt to the needs of the company’s bulk carrier fleet for global operation and sustainable development, which is in line with the company’s development strategy, and can realize the substitution and supplementation of the company’s bulk carrier fleet, and is beneficial to the further optimization of the structure of the dry bulk carrier fleet.
The new generation of energy-saving and environmentally friendly 210,000 DWT bulk carriers, equipped with desulfurization scrubber tower and a number of energy-saving and environmentally friendly designs, will consume significantly better energy than the existing bulk carriers of the same type, which is the company’s landmark initiative in practicing the concept of “green shipping”, and will also contribute to the global shipping industry, especially the bulk transportation industry, to achieve the “carbon neutrality” as a long-term goal.
According to the announcement, Hong Kong Ming Wah is a professional operation and management company mainly engaged in large and medium-sized dry bulk cargo transportation under CMES, which was founded in January 1980 in Hong Kong, and is one of the earliest shipping enterprises in Hong Kong and even in China to obtain the dual certification of the safety and quality management system. It operates routes all over the world, transports a wide range of flexible cargoes, and ranks first in the world in the scale of Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC). By the end of 2023, the total assets of Hong Kong Ming Wah amounted to US$163,449,000, the operating income in 2023 was US$80,190,000, and the total profit was US$11,330,000.
In May this year, the industry reported that Hong Kong Ming Wah would spend nearly US$1.4 billion (RMB 10.11 billion) to order as many as 18 210,000 dwt Newcastlemax bulk carriers from New Times Shipbuilding (NTS) and China State Shipbuilding Group (CSSC) Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding (Beihai Shipbuilding). At that time, it was reported that New Times Shipbuilding would build 8+2 units at a cost of US$76.5 million to US$78 million per unit, which were expected to be delivered in 2028, while Beihai Shipbuilding would build 8 units, 2 of which would be delivered in 2026 at a cost of US$80.5 million, and the other 6 units would be delivered in 2028 at a cost of US$76.5 million.
It is understood that the order from Hong Kong Ming Wah is the second time that New Times Shipbuilding has undertaken a super-large bulk carrier after three years. The shipbuilder, which last undertook bulk carriers dating back to 2021, was responsible for the construction of 8+4 LNG dual-fuel powered Newcastlemax bulk carriers for bulk carrier shipping company Himalaya Shipping, then at a cost of between $67 million and $68 million.
In addition to bulk carriers, New Times Shipbuilding has also recently signed a provisional contract with Capital Group, a shipping company owned by Greek king Evangelos Marinakis, for 10 8,400 TEU liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel powered medium-sized containerships, with a price of more than US$130 million each, which are expected to be delivered one after another from early 2027 to 2028 deliveries. If this order is confirmed, it will be Capital’s second order for containerships after two years and New Times Shipbuilding’s first order for containerships since 2023.