On August 5, China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) announced that it had signed five shipbuilding contracts with Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC) through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Associated Maritime Company (Hong Kong) Limited (AMCL). The contracts cover the construction of five energy-efficient, eco-friendly Aframax oil tankers equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) and shaft generators. The total contract value is approximately RMB 2.485 billion (about $368 million), with a unit cost of around RMB 497 million; delivery is scheduled for 2029 and 2030 (with two vessels to be delivered in 2029).
The announcement disclosed that the matter regarding the construction of new vessels was approved at the 30th meeting of the 7th Board of Directors of CMES on July 10, 2026. The overseas investment matters involved in the specific implementation of this transaction are still subject to filing with the relevant national authorities.
CMES stated that the construction of these new oil tankers is intended to consolidate and strengthen the market position of the company’s world-class oil tanker fleet, further enhance its market competitiveness and ability to serve customers, and seize market opportunities while leveraging existing high-quality shipbuilding resources to achieve the development goals of renewing, optimizing, and upgrading the oil tanker fleet.
Since the beginning of the year, CMES has announced orders for various types of vessels, spanning key commercial shipping sectors such as container ships, bulk carriers, and oil tankers.
Specific projects include: 10 VLCCs, 5 Aframax tankers, and 1 shuttle tanker undertaken by DSIC; 4 1,800 TEU container ships from China Merchants Shipbuilding Qingshan Shipyard; 4 8,200 TEU methanol-ready container ships from China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu); 4 3,000 TEU container ships from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Jiangsu); and 6 VLOCs, one 210,000 DWT bulk carrier, and 4 1,800 TEU container ships from China Merchants Shipbuilding, among others.
Regarding the shipyard, DSIC has publicly announced over 50 new vessel orders this year, with nearly 40 coming from the tanker market; the largest single order for container ships—comprising twelve 9,200 TEU vessels—was placed by Greece’s Costamare; additionally, COSCO SHIPPING Development ordered two 210,000 DWT bulk carriers.