George Procopiou’s bulk carrier shipping company Sea Traders is shifting its bulk carrier order book from Kamsarmax to Ultramax, and has signed a contract for the construction of six 63,500 dwt Ultramax bulk carriers with the “restructured” Sainty Shipbuilding (Yangzhou), which is expected to be delivered between June 2026 and the first quarter of 2027, according to Trade Winds.
As the price has not been disclosed, for reference, the cost of the 63,500 dwt bulk carrier recently ordered by Jinhui Holdings from Jiangsu New Hantong Ship Heavy Industry (NHT) was $34 million. And based on this calculation, the total value of the contract for the six new bulk carriers of Sainty Shipbuilding (Yangzhou) is about $204 million (about RMB 1.481 billion).
Together with the latest order, Sea Traders has placed orders for 32 new vessels in the bulk carrier sector since the summer of 2023, and the contract value has reached approximately $1.1 billion (RMB 7.986 billion), all of which have been undertaken by Chinese shipyards. Apart from the six Ultramax bulk carriers ordered from Sainty Shipbuilding (Yangzhou), the remaining 26 new vessels are all of Kamsarmax specification, with deadweights ranging from 82,000-85,000 tons. Sea Traders’ wave of bulk carrier orders since last summer began at Heng Li Heavy Industries.
In July 2023, Sea Traders signed a contract with Hengli Heavy Industries for 10 82,000 dwt Kamsarmax bulk carriers, with a total order value of $350 million; on August 1, it signed a construction contract for 8 Sea Whale 85,000 dwt bulk carriers with China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s (CSSC) Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding; In September of the same year, signed a contract with Qingdao Yangfan Shipbuilding for the construction of four 82,000 dwt Kamsarmax bulk carriers.
In February 2024, Sea Traders returned to Hengli Heavy Industries to order four 82,000 dwt Kamsarmax bulk carriers, increasing its bulk carrier order book at the shipyard to 14 units, the first order announced by Hengli Heavy Industries since 2024.
Mr. George procopiou is one of the most prominent private shipowners in Greece, owning Sea Traders, Dynacom Tankers Management and Dynagas, three shipping companies operating bulk carriers, tankers and LNG carriers, providing dry bulk, crude oil and specialized shipping services, with an extensive and well-established track record in the global maritime logistics industry.
It is worth noting that the bulk carrier order between Sea Traders and Sainty Shipbuilding (Yangzhou) has been confirmed by the shipyard, but the specific quantity was not disclosed at that time. In addition to foreign shipowners, domestic shipowners such as China Development Bank Leasing and Jiangsu Ocean Shipping are also ordering new vessels from the shipyard. In addition, Sainty Shipbuilding (Yangzhou) has another order for eight new vessels under negotiation, with an estimated contract value of over $260 million.
Data show that Sainty Shipbuilding (Yangzhou) was originally a subsidiary of Jiangsu Sainty Marine Corp (Sainty Marine) was established in September 2004. At present, it covers an area of about 1,050 mu, with a shoreline length of 930 m. It owns 1 dock, 1 slipway, 2 outfitting wharves, equipped with 2 sets of 500-ton gantry cranes, and advanced shipbuilding special equipment. And its main products are bulk carriers below 100,000 tons, container ships, heavy lift vessels, multi-purpose vessels, and offshore engineering vessels.
It is understood that Sainty Shipbuilding (Yangzhou) was originally a third-tier company of Jiangsu Guoxin Investment Group, which was restructured from Jiangsu Sainty Marine. In 2011, Sainty Marine was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange; since 2013, Sainty Marine has suffered serious losses, and ultimately declared bankruptcy and reorganization in 2016, which was the first bankruptcy of a listed shipbuilding enterprise in China. It was the first listed shipbuilding company to go bankrupt in China. Subsequently, Jiangsu Guoxin Investment Group saved Sunshine Shipbuilding, which was about to be delisted, by injecting assets in exchange for shares. in March 2017, Sainty Marine changed its name to Jiangsu Guoxin Company Limited and announced that it was “withdrawing from the shipbuilding industry”.
In 2016, Jiangsu Sainty Assets Management Company Limited of Jiangsu Guoxin Group was established. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the reorganization process of Sainty Marine, in May 2016, the administrator entered into the Asset Transfer Agreement with Sainty Assets, transferring all the properties of Sainty Marine other than monetary funds to the company by agreement.The shipyard is now part of Jiangsu Soho Holdings Group which has been formally inaugurated on April 30, 2024 by the reorganization of three companies, namely Sainty Machinery, Sainty Minmetals and Sainty Assets.