COSCO SHIPPING is further expanding its strategic footprint in the Newcastlemax bulk carrier market, with its fleet set to add several newbuildings.
On November 12, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC) announced it had secured orders for 30 new vessels, including four 210,000 DWT Newcastlemax bulk carriers. At the time, the company only disclosed that the orders were placed by a domestic shipping company.
According to shipbrokers and market sources, COSCO Shipping has been confirmed as the final operator of these four Newcastlemax bulk carriers. It has been disclosed that the vessels were contracted by a leasing company with DSIC and will be chartered to COSCO Shipping for operation upon completion.
It is understood that this marks COSCO Shipping’s second batch of new orders for Newcastlemax bulk carriers since July this year. On July 29, COSCO Shipping Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping, disclosed through multiple announcements that it had approved its wholly-owned subsidiary Hainan COSCO Shipping Development to order 10 bulk carriers with a deadweight tonnage of 210,000 tons. Beihai Shipbuilding and COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry ( Zhoushan) will construct 4 and 6 vessels respectively, with a total cost of RMB 5.28 billion (approximately US$744 million). All vessels are scheduled for delivery by the end of 2028, All vessels will be operated under long-term charter by COSCO Shipping Bulk upon delivery.
As a major Chinese shipping conglomerate, COSCO Shipping has recently announced plans for multiple new vessels. Half a month ago, COSCO Shipping Development announced orders for 23 methanol dual-fuel bulk carriers with a deadweight tonnage of 87,000 tons from COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Dalian), and six methanol + LNG dual-fuel pre-reserved Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) with a deadweight tonnage of 307,000 tons from DSIC. The total cost amounts to RMB 12.4238 billion (approximately US$1.751 billion). All 29 vessels will be delivered by the end of 2028 and will be operated under long-term charter by COSCO Shipping Bulk.
Since launching a large-scale newbuilding program in the dry bulk sector in 2024, COSCO Shipping has placed orders for nearly 100 bulk carriers with multiple Chinese shipyards, according to incomplete statistics. Major shipyards include Nantong Xiangyu Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., Ltd. (Nantong Xiangyu SOE), COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou), COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Dalian ), COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Zhoushan), Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry Co., Ltd(HT), Beihai Shipbuilding, and DSIC.
Additionally, COSCO Shipping Bulk has signed contracts in June with Fujian Shipbuilding Industry Group for up to 30 80,000 DWT multi-purpose grain carriers. Other vessel types ordered by COSCO Shipping subsidiaries include VLCCs, asphalt carriers, very large gas carriers (VLGCs), container ships, tankers, and semi-submersibles. Including optioned vessels, COSCO Shipping has publicly announced orders for approximately 100 new vessels so far this year.
As of December 31, 2024, COSCO SHIPPING operated a fleet with a total capacity of 130 million deadweight tons across 1,535 vessels, ranking first globally. Among these, its container fleet of 542 vessels with a capacity of 3.388 million TEU ranks among the world’s largest. Its dry bulk fleet of 468 vessels with a capacity of 49.826 million dwt, oil and gas fleet of 251 vessels with a capacity of 32.8 million dwt, and general cargo/specialized fleet of 207 vessels with a capacity of 7.883 million dwt all hold the top position globally.