Following the official commencement of construction on the first batch of four Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs), CIMC Raffles has achieved another major breakthrough in the commercial shipbuilding sector.
On July 1, construction officially began on the lead vessel of a “4+2” project involving 4,700 TEU container ships for the Greek shipowner Alpha Bulkers. This marks a critical milestone following the contract signing, signifying CIMC Raffles’ transition from the design phase to actual construction in the core commercial sector of container shipbuilding.
This project represents Alpha Bulkers’ first foray into the container ship market and CIMC Raffles’ first time building container ships, making it strategically significant for both parties.
The series of vessels that have now entered the construction phase were independently designed by the CIMC Ocean Engineering Design & Research Institute (CIMC ORIC). Measuring 220 meters in length and 37.3 meters in beam, the vessels have a maximum capacity of 4,700 TEU—including 850 reefer plugs—and a design speed of 19 knots. Exemplifying the synergy between design and manufacturing within the CIMC Group, the project fully integrates resources across the entire internal R&D and construction value chain, balancing advanced vessel technology with overall construction cost-efficiency.
This batch of vessels will be constructed at CIMC Raffles’ Longkou base. The Longkou base houses China’s first specialized production line for thin-plate laser-hybrid welding in shipbuilding; it has successfully delivered multiple LNG dual-fuel car carriers in recent years and possesses extensive experience in commercial vessel construction. The commencement of this container ship project marks a significant breakthrough for CIMC Raffles in the commercial vessel sector beyond car carriers, fully demonstrating the company’s comprehensive capability to rapidly strategize and execute new projects.
In recent years, leveraging core competencies accumulated in offshore engineering equipment and specialized vessels, CIMC Raffles has successfully executed a strategic expansion into the mainstream commercial shipbuilding market.
Beyond container ships, CIMC Raffles signed a contract with the European shipping investment firm Bruton on March 20, 2026, for four 319,000 DWT VLCCs—marking the shipbuilder’s first-ever order in the VLCC sector. The project entered the substantive construction phase on May 15, with less than two months elapsing between the contract signing and the start of construction.
In the new shipbuilding sector, CIMC Raffles has announced over 20 new vessel projects this year, including an FPSO EPC contract, an offshore engineering installation vessel, two car carriers, ten live fish carriers, four VLCCs, two (plus two optional) Ro-Ro vessels, and a subsea stone-dumping vessel.
Notably, the order for live fish carriers represents the first series project of its kind secured by a Chinese shipyard from the cutting-edge Northwest European market.