According to an official announcement from Hantong Group, in February 2026, Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (HT) successively signed contracts with multiple renowned shipowners for the construction of nine new vessels of various types. The vessel types include bulk carriers and Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). The bulk carriers are 64,000 deadweight tons and 210,000 deadweight tons, while the VLCCs are 319,000 deadweight tons.
In February 2024, HT announced its first VLCC order, with the Swiss commodity trading company Trafigura as the owner. According to incomplete statistics, as of November 2025, Trafigura had placed orders with HT for at least 10 VLCCs, with a single vessel costing around US$120 million, making it the shipowner with the most VLCC orders from HT.
In addition to Trafigura, British shipowner Zodiac Maritime is also reported to have placed orders for up to eight VLCCs with HT, each costing $125 million. Zodiac Maritime’s shipbuilding projects with HT also include six 9,000 TEU container vessels.
Bulk carriers have been HT’s main order type in recent years, covering all major segments of the bulk carrier market. In early 2026, it was reported that Norwegian shipowner Uthalden Maritime Management had placed an order with the shipyard for four 63,500 dwt Ultramax bulk carriers, expected to be delivered in 2027 (2 vessels) and 2028 (2 vessels), with hull numbers JSHT351, JSHT352, JSHT369, and JSHT370.
Currently, HT is actively diversifying its order portfolio. According to disclosed data, the 33 new vessel orders secured by HT for 2025 cover multiple vessel types including bulk carriers, tankers and container vessels.
In the container ship market, HT made its debut in container ship construction in 2024 through a batch order for 22,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessels from Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). The design completion rate for the 22,000 TEU-class container vessels currently stands at 100%. In the tanker sector, HT formally entered the tanker construction field at the end of 2023 by securing an order for two 157,000 dwt Suezmax tankers from Greek shipowner George Economou.
In addition to securing new ship orders, HT achieved multiple key milestones in its February 2026 shipbuilding projects, delivering a total of four vessels with hull numbers HT64-346, HT64-328, HT64-347, and HT82-405. Multiple new vessels commenced construction, with hull numbers HT-OT159-361, HT82-415, HT82-416 and HT-OT319-466 (all VLCCs).
Records indicate that HT’s first VLCC, the “Hantong 373”, commenced construction in February 2025 and was launched on January 7, 2026, marking a substantial breakthrough for HT in the construction of large oil tankers. The vessel measures 332.9 meters in length and 60 meters in width, with delivery scheduled for the second half of 2026.
It is understood that Jiangsu Hantong Group’s main business covers offshore engineering, shipbuilding, new energy offshore wind power and other business areas; it owns Xin Hantong, Hantong WING Heavy Industry, iangsu Hantong Changyang Intelligent Equipment Manufacturing and Jingtong Port delivery bases. Its ship design and construction capacity reaches 5 million deadweight tons, with an annual steel processing capacity of 900,000 tons. Supporting facilities include a 300,000-ton shipbuilding dry dock and a 22,000-ton semi-submersible floating dock.