According to TradeWinds, the global shipping giant Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) has recently commissioned China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. to build four 210,000 DWT ammonia dual-fuel powered bulk carriers, which will be delivered between 2027 and 2028.
Including the latest order, the total number of 210,000 DWT bulk carriers ordered by MOL at Beihai Shipbuilding has reached 11. The previous seven vessels are all used LNG dual fuel, while the above four new vessels have switched to ammonia dual fuel. The cost of the order has not yet been announced, but brokers said that the cost of a single vessel using ammonia dual fuel will exceed US$93 million.
According to previous reports, on August 25, 2022, MOL announced that it had ordered four 210,000 DWT LNG dual-fuel bulk carriers from Beihai Shipbuilding, reaching the first cooperation between the two parties, and planned to deliver them between 2025 and 2026. In early 2024, Beihai Shipbuilding and China Shipbuilding Trading Co., Ltd. (CSTC) announced that they would cooperate with MOL again and signed a contract to build three 210,000 DWT LNG dual-fuel bulk carriers.
It is reported that 210,000 DWT bulk carriers are the mainstream ship type produced by Beihai Shipbuilding. According to incomplete statistics, the shipyard has publicly announced orders for 25 new ships this year, including 12 ammonia-ready bulk carriers and 3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel bulk carriers.
Among them, three LNG dual-fuel powered bulk carriers were ordered by MOL; 12 ammonia-ready bulk carriers were ordered by Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS), Berge Bulk Singapore and Belgian tanker giant Euronav, with the numbers being 8, 2 and 2 respectively; and 10 traditional fuel bulk carriers were ordered by China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) and its subsidiaries.