COSCO Shipping Bulk, a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping, is pushing forward a large-scale new shipbuilding plan, which is expected to build up to 30 multi-purpose vessels with a total value of US$1.5 billion (approximately RMB 10.78 billion).
According to Splash247, COSCO Shipping Bulk has partnered with CITIC Financial Leasing to order 15+15 80,000 DWT multi-purpose vessels at Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding at a cost of approximately US$50 million each, which are expected to be delivered between 2027 and 2028.
According to reports, COSCO Shipping Bulk and CITIC Financial Leasing have signed a charter agreement earlier, but no further details were disclosed. CITIC Financial Leasing will provide financing for up to 30 vessels, continuing the financing model adopted by COSCO Shipping Bulk in previous transactions.
According to TradeWinds, COSCO Shipping Bulk’s resumption of new shipbuilding plans is aimed at responding to the Chinese government’s call for Chinese shipowners to “upgrade their fleets” and is in line with its parent company COSCO Shipping Group’s large-scale investment in new shipbuilding in 2024. The order also marks the next stage of COSCO Shipping Bulk’s broader fleet expansion plan.
As a Chinese shipping giant, in 2024, COSCO Shipping Group invested heavily in initiating a massive newbuilding program in the dry bulk sector.
According to incomplete statistics, COSCO Shipping Group has ordered at least 80 bulk carriers from a number of Chinese shipyards since the beginning of 2024, aiming to promote fleet diversification.
On March 12, 2024, COSCO Shipping Bulk and Xiamen Financial Leasing joined forces to order eight 64,000 dwt methanol reserved bulk carriers at Nantong Xiangyu Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., Ltd. (Nantong Xiangyu SOE).
On August 30, 2024, COSCO Shipping Development, a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping Gruop, commissioned subsidiaries of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry to build 20 bulk carriers, including 2 82,500 DWT bulk carriers from COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou), 13 80,000 DWT bulk carriers from COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Dalian), and 5 64,000 DWT bulk carriers from COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Zhoushan); and commissioned CSSC Chengxi Shipyard to build 22 bulk carriers. The total value of the 42 vessels is about RMB 12.7 billion (excluding tax), and the new buildings will be delivered from 2026. All of them will be leased to COSCO Shipping Bulk in the form of operating leases.
On December 20, 2024, COSCO Shipping Bulk announced that it had signed a contract with COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) to build up to eight 210,000 DWT methanol/ammonia reserved bulk carriers, which will be delivered and put into operation from August 2027 to November 2028.
In early May 2025, COSCO Shipping Bulk placed an order with Beihai Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, for 2+10 209,800 DWT ammonia/methanol reserved bulk carriers, which are expected to be delivered in October and December 2027.
In addition, recent news that COSCO Shipping Bulk is also considering placing further orders for Newcastlemax bulk carriers with at least two Chinese shipyards , which means that more more newbuilding construction agreements may be reached in this market segment.
As the world’s largest specialized bulk cargo transportation enterprise, COSCO Shipping Bulk has more than 500 bulk carriers of various types with more than 51 million DWT, loading all kinds of bulk cargoes such as iron ore, coal, grain, general cargoes, etc., with routes covering the domestic coasts and the world’s major ports, and a service network spreading all over the world.