According to Hantong Group on August 1, the company won three shipbuilding contracts in July for a total of seven new vessels, covering three major vessels: oil tankers, container ships and bulk carriers.
Trafigura orders two more VLCCs
Trafigura, one of the world’s largest metals and mineral traders, has placed an order for two more Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) at Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry Co., Ltd (HT), bringing the shipyard’s VLCC orderbook to eight. The first six will be announced in February, June and September 2024, with quantities of two, three and one respectively. The first six vessels will have a deadweight capacity of 319,000 tons each.
The cost of the two newly ordered vessels has not yet been disclosed. Based on previous orders, the price of each vessel is US$120 million. Based on this estimate, the total value of the eight new vessels is approximately US$960 million.
In addition to Trafigura, Switzerland-based Advantage Tankers has placed an order for a VLCC from HT. The order was announced in April this year and is expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2026. To date, HT has placed orders for a total of nine VLCCs.
MSC orders three additional 22,000 TEU container vessels
Following reports in August 2024 that it had ordered 10 22,000TEU container vessels from HT, MSC has ordered another 3 22,000TEU container vessels at the shipyard, bringing the number of its cooperation to 13.
The first 10 MSC’s vessels will use liquefied natural gas (LNG) as fuel and are expected to be delivered from the second half of 2027 to 2028. This order is also HT’s first foray into the container vessel construction market since its establishment, which is of great significance.
It is worth noting that in addition to the additional order with HT, MSC has placed first and additional orders for ultra-large container vessels with several Chinese shipyards this year, including Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, Hengli Heavy Industries, Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard, China Merchants Industry Haimen Base and China Merchants Industry Qingdao Shipyard. Including the latest order, its order book has expanded to approximately 30 container vessels.
Kmarine orders two 210,000 DWT bulk carriers
In addition to orders for container vessels, VLCCs and other vessels, HT has also secured new orders in the bulk carrier sector, with Kmarine placing an order for two 210,000 DWT bulk carriers.
In the bulk carrier sector, including the latest order, HT has already undertaken two types of four new vessels in the bulk carrier market this year. Another order comes from Egypt’s National Navigation Company (NNC), which is a contract to build two 82,000 DWT Kamsarmax bulk carriers, which are expected to be delivered in September and November 2028.
In addition to the seven new vessel orders, HT also achieved significant progress in July: 11 vessels under construction reached milestones, two vessels were delivered and a new offshore wind power cooperation agreement was signed. These developments mark a new step forward for HT in project lifecycle management and refined production organization, providing strong support for achieving its annual production and operation targets.