Greek shipowner Global Chartering has signed a contract with China Merchants Industry Qingdao Shipyard for the construction of two 211,000 DWT Newcastlemax bulk carriers, with delivery scheduled for December 2027, according to shipbroker Bancosta. Both vessels will be traditionally fueled, with each vessel costing approximately $74 million, totaling around $148 million for the pair.
According to its official website, Global Chartering was established in 2019 as a joint venture between global steel giant ArcelorMittal and dry bulk shipping owner DryLog, with each party holding a 50% stake. Global Chartering and its subsidiaries currently operate 42 long-term chartered dry cargo vessels, including 28 time charters and 14 bareboat charters (including one wholly owned vessel), with an average fleet age of 8 years.
It is reported that China Merchants Industry Qingdao Shipyard last undertook Newcastlemax bulk carriers in June 2024, responsible for building two new vessels for Hong Kong Ming Wah Shipping, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Merchants Shipping. The total value of the order is approximately 1.05 billion yuan (equivalent to $148 million). The vessels are equipped with desulfurization scrubbers and incorporate multiple energy-saving and environmentally friendly designs. Deliveries will commence in the second half of 2027.
Notably, this marks the first Newcastlemax bulk carrier order secured by Qingdao Yangfan Shipbuilding(Qingdao Yangfan) since its acquisition and rebranding as China Merchants Industry Qingdao Shipyard. It also represents the shipyard’s second publicly announced shipbuilding contract this year. In August, Greek container shipping company Danaos Corp. announced an order for one 6,014 TEU container ship with China Merchants Industry Qingdao Shipyard.
According to the data, China Merchants Industry Qingdao Shipyard is located in Nüdao Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Base, Jimo District, Qingdao. Covering a total area of 790,000 square meters, the shipyard features an outfitting quay of 1,090 meters with a water depth of -7.8 meters alongside. It is equipped with two dry docks (a large one of 480m × 76m and a small one of 180m × 28m), two 600-ton gantry cranes, one 150-ton gantry crane, and over 2,000 sets of domestic first-class supporting production equipment. Upon reaching full capacity, the shipyard can achieve an annual steel processing capacity of 200,000 tons and an annual shipbuilding capacity of 1.5 million deadweight tons (DWT).