On May 21, COSCO SHIPPING Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “COSCO SHIPPING Development” or the “Company”) issued an announcement stating that two of its wholly-owned subsidiaries intend to acquire eight 210,000-DWT bulk carriers and two 64,000-DWT bulk carriers—all currently under construction—from COSCO SHIPPING Bulk Co., Ltd. (COSCO SHIPPING Bulk). This move aims to continuously advance the Company’s strategic layout of integrating shipping leasing with financial services, thereby further expanding the scale of its high-quality vessel assets.
Specifically, the announcement disclosed that Oriental Fleet SHIPPING 11 and Oriental Fleet SHIPPING 12—wholly-owned subsidiaries of COSCO SHIPPING Development—intend to acquire the aforementioned eight 210,000 DWT bulk carriers and two 64,000 DWT bulk carriers, respectively. These vessels are to be purchased from WAI FUNG SHIPPING and MARIENVOY SHIPPING—wholly-owned subsidiaries of COSCO SHIPPING Bulk—through the comprehensive assumption of the rights and obligations stipulated under the relevant shipbuilding contracts.
Eight 210,000 DWT bulk carriers, designed with provisions for “methanol + ammonia” fuel, are being built by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou). Oriental Fleet SHIPPING 11 has signed a “Shipbuilding Contract Assignment Agreement” with WAI FUNG SHIPPING; Oriental Fleet SHIPPING 11, WAI FUNG SHIPPING, and COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou) intend to jointly sign separate “Assignment of Rights and Obligations Agreements” for each vessel, stipulating the transfer of rights and obligations under the shipbuilding contracts to Oriental Fleet SHIPPING 11. According to the agreement, the transaction amount for the transfer is 1,387,311,300 yuan (excluding tax), and the remaining shipbuilding payment of $424.48 million (excluding tax) will continue to be paid to the shipbuilder in accordance with the terms of the shipbuilding contract.
Two 64,000-ton bulk carriers are being built by COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Zhoushan). Oriental Fleet SHIPPING 12 has signed a “Shipbuilding Contract Assignment Agreement” with MARIENVOY SHIPPING; Oriental Fleet SHIPPING 12, MARIENVOY SHIPPING, and the shipbuilder intend to jointly sign separate “Assignment of Rights and Obligations Agreements” for each vessel, stipulating the transfer of rights and obligations under the shipbuilding contracts to Oriental Fleet SHIPPING 12. Pursuant to the agreement, the transaction amount for the transfer is $24,989,700 (excluding tax), and the remaining shipbuilding payment of $46,150,000 (excluding tax) will continue to be paid to the shipbuilder in accordance with the terms of the shipbuilding contract.
COSCO SHIPPING Development stated that the 10 bulk carriers involved in this transaction will all be leased to a subsidiary of COSCO SHIPPING Bulk under operating leases.
The eight 210,000 DWT vessels are under operating bareboat charters, and are expected to be delivered between August 2027 and November 2028; the two 64,000 DWT vessels are under operating time charters, and are expected to be delivered between July 2026 and August 2026. The charter period for the eight 210,000 DWT vessels is 240 months ± 180 days from the date of delivery, while the charter period for the 2 x 64,000 DWT vessels is 180 months ± 90 days from the date of delivery. Taking into account the retrofitting and upgrading of the vessels’ fuel and propulsion systems, the annual bareboat charter rent for each 210,000 DWT vessel is expected to be no more than 45.5 million yuan (excluding tax), and the annual time charter rent for each 64,000 DWT vessel is expected to be no more than 38.22 million yuan.
Regarding this vessel acquisition, COSCO Shipping Development noted that the transaction will help the company further leverage the synergies between its industrial and financial operations, enhance the scale and quality of its vessel assets, solidify the foundation for the development of its vessel leasing business, generate long-term stable revenue and cash flow, improve the company’s overall financial stability, and strengthen its momentum for sustainable development. At the same time, COSCO Shipping Development will collaborate with upstream and downstream enterprises in the shipping industry chain to further explore RMB application scenarios in “building, leasing, and operating” vessels, deepen the practical use of the RMB in the international shipping sector, and enhance its competitive strength in the market.
In recent years, COSCO Shipping Development has actively capitalized on the trend toward green transformation and upgrading in the shipping industry, continuing to expand its industrial-financial projects and achieving a significant increase in the scale of its high-quality vessel assets. To date, COSCO Shipping Development owns nearly 130 vessels across multiple vessel types, with more than 80 additional vessels currently under construction set to be delivered in the coming years.