On March 30, China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) announced that, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Associated Maritime Company (Hong Kong) Limited, it had signed 10 Shipbuilding Agreements with Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group (Dalian Shipbuilding) via electronic signature, to build 10 conventional-fuel Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). The total contract value amounts to approximately RMB 8.566 billion; based on this calculation, the unit price per vessel is RMB 856.6 million.
The shipbuilding contract was signed on March 30. The new vessel features a dual-fuel-ready design and is equipped with a desulfurization scrubber and a shaft-driven generator. Delivery is expected between 2028 and 2030.
CMES announced that at the 27th meeting of its 7th Board of Directors held on March 25, 2026, the board reviewed and approved the “Proposal on the Construction of New VLCCs.” The board agreed to the construction of 10 new VLCCs at a leading shipyard under China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC).
CMES emphasized that this batch of new vessels will help consolidate and strengthen the market position of its world-class tanker fleet, further enhance its market competitiveness and ability to serve customers, and seize market opportunities and leverage existing high-quality shipbuilding resources to achieve the development goals of renewing, optimizing, and upgrading the tanker fleet.
On the same day, CSSC issued an announcement stating that Dalian Shipbuilding had signed a contract with a well-known domestic shipowner for the construction of 10 VLCCs. CSSC merely stated that the shipowner is a leading global tanker operator with which Dalian Shipbuilding has maintained a close long-term partnership. Based on the timing of the contract signing, the scale of the order, the contract value, and the delivery schedule, the shipowner is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CMES.
According to information from the official website, Dalian Shipbuilding was founded in 1898. It is a key final assembly enterprise of CSSC and serves as a major base for the construction of surface vessels, as well as a key base for the construction of high-end ships and offshore engineering equipment in China.
According to Shanghai Imarine tech’s order book, including the latest orders, Dalian Shipbuilding has secured contracts for 15+2 new vessels this year, all of which are for the tanker market.