Hong Kong-based Chinese VLGC owner CYH Shipping has reportedly placed an order with a domestic shipyard for up to six Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGCs).
Industry sources reveal that CYH Shipping has signed a contract with Jiangnan Shipyard—a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC)—for the construction of four firm and two optional 90,000-cubic-meter VLGCs. The initial four vessels are expected to be delivered in 2030; the contract price has not been disclosed. To date, neither the shipowner nor the shipbuilder has made a public announcement regarding the order.
If confirmed, this order would mark CYH Shipping’s first major shipbuilding project in the large gas carrier segment, signaling an accelerated shift toward the LPG shipping business. By the end of 2025, the company had sold its last LR2 tanker—built in 2010—thereby completely exiting the tanker market; earlier in 2026, it had already acquired two secondhand VLGCs.
According to its official website, CYH Shipping currently focuses on gas transport, with a strategy centered on owning and operating liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers. The contract with Jiangnan Shipyard marks an expansion of the shipowner’s fleet development strategy from acquiring secondhand vessels to the newbuild market, while also establishing a partnership with a leading Chinese gas carrier shipyard.
In recent years, Jiangnan Shipyard has established a solid market position in the VLGC segment and has gradually expanded its core product offerings to include Very Large Ammonia Carriers (VLACs), Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs), and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers. This year, the shipyard has publicly announced orders for 12 LNG carriers and 6 VLACs.
Across the market, shipowners of liquefied gas carriers have shown great enthusiasm for placing orders this year—particularly for LPG/ammonia carriers and liquefied CO₂ (LCO₂) carriers—with over 40 new vessels ordered to date.
Orders for VLGCs and VLACs have staged a strong comeback this year; a mid-year report by maritime data firm Veson Nautical reveals that global shipowners placed orders for a total of 49 VLGCs, VLACs, and VLECs in the first half of the year—a sharp year-on-year increase from the nine vessels ordered during the same period last year. If CYH Shipping finalizes its order, it will mark the entry of yet another private Chinese shipowner into the VLGC newbuild market, which has seen a flurry of ordering activity this year.