On March 3, China State Shipbuilding Corporation (hereinafter referred to as “CSSC”) issued an “Announcement on the Signing of Major Contracts by its Subsidiary of the Company”. The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Jiangnan Shipyard”) signed construction contract for a batch of 18,000TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships with a contract value of RMB 18 billion to RMB 19 billion (approximately $2.47 – $2.61 billion at current exchange rates).
The announcement disclosed that on February 28, Jiangnan Shipyard, together with China Shipbuilding Trading Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “CSTC”), signed a contract with a shipowner for the construction of a batch of 18,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships, with a contract value of RMB18 billion to RMB19 billion. The contract will be paid in US dollars and the new ships will be delivered in 2028 and 2029.
According to the announcement, this 18,000 TEU container ship is a large container ship that Jiangnan Shipyard developed completely independently in accordance with the latest international green energy container ship design concept and meets the latest current rules and regulations. It has the characteristics of reliability, energy saving, and environmental protection, and its comprehensive performance indicators have reached the international advanced level.
CSSC stated that the shipowner who signed the above contract is a long-term partner of Jiangnan Shipyard. According to the “Management Measures for Suspension and Exemption of Company Information Disclosure” and the agreement between Jiangnan Shipyard and the shipowner, the disclosure of relevant information about the shipowner is exempted. The signing of this contract will help enhance the cooperation adhesion between Jiangnan Shipyard and the shipowner, and at the same time enrich the spectrum of large container ships of Jiangnan Shipyard, which will have a positive effect on the development of more innovative products in the future.
It is worth mentioning that several sources have previously said that French liner giant CMA CGM has chosen Jiangnan Shipyard to order up to 12 large liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel container ships, with a total order value of about $2.5 billion. The contract includes eight firm container ships and four option ships.
According to the official website, Jiangnan Shipyard is a large modern shipbuilding enterprise under CSSC, with 20,000 employees, and is China’s No. 1 military shipbuilding enterprise. After asset restructuring and integration, Jiangnan Shipyard currently covers an area of 5.17 million square meters and has a total shoreline length of 3,561 meters. It is divided into three production areas, which can meet the construction needs of various series of naval ships, and can also build a full range of liquefied gas ships, ultra-large container ships, as well as official ships, scientific research ships, icebreakers and other special ships.