On January 13, Jiangnan Shipyard under China State Shipbuilding Corporation, in conjunction with China Shipbuilding Trading Co., Ltd. (CSTC), formally inked a contract with COSCO Shipping Lines for the construction of 12 dual-fuel LNG-powered container ships, each boasting a capacity of 18,000 TEU.
The 18,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ship signed this time is the “Kun” (KUN-18N) type, independently developed and designed by Jiangnan Shipyard. It uses LNG as its main fuel and has complete independent intellectual property rights. All performance indicators have reached the advanced level in China, with the advantages of high efficiency, energy saving and green environmental protection, which meets the shipowner’s strategy and plan to reduce carbon emissions of the fleet in the subsequent operation cycle.
According to an announcement released by COSCO SHIPPING Holdings Co., Ltd. on the same day, each of the 12 new vessels has a contract price of RMB 1.399 billion, totaling RMB 16.788 billion (approximately US$2.406 billion). Deliveries are expected between 2028 and 2029.
According to the announcement, the vessels ordered this time will be equipped with LNG dual-fuel engines after comprehensive consideration of environmental protection, cost, technology, global infrastructure, and policy factors, reflecting COSCO Shipping’s commitment to global energy conservation, emission reduction, and sustainable development strategies. These newly ordered vessels will gradually replace aging vessels, contributing to the optimization of COSCO Shipping’s fleet structure. The increased average container capacity per vessel will effectively reduce per-container costs and enhance economies of scale.
It is reported that since the design of the “KUN” series of large container ships independently developed by Jiangnan Shipyard entered the mainstream international container ship market in early 2022, it has successively won multiple large container ship orders from major liner companies such as Pacific International Lines (PIL) of Singapore, Boya International Shipping of Hong Kong, CMA CGM of France, and Ocean Network Express of Singapore.
With the successful signing of this agreement with COSCO Shipping Lines, the “KUN” series of container ships has expanded to 49 vessels, covering various fuel types such as conventional fuel power, methanol dual-fuel power, and LNG dual-fuel power. This fully demonstrates Jiangnan Shipyard’s profound strength in the research, design, and construction of large container ships, further expands Jiangnan Shipyard’s influence in the mainstream dual-fuel large container ship market, and also marks another milestone for Jiangnan Shipyard in the field of large container ships.
Previously, Jiangnan Shipyard built and delivered 12 5,100 TEU container ships, 8 4,700 TEU container ships, and 6 21,000 TEU container ships for COSCO Shipping. Among them, the 6 21,000 TEU ultra-large container ships built for COSCO Shipping Lines have become mobile calling cards for the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road,” providing solid shipping capacity support for the implementation of the “Belt and Road” initiative.