Since 2026, COSCO Shipping Holdings has invested more than 54 billion yuan (approximately $8.028 billion) in shipbuilding orders in the container shipping market, including 36 large container ships and 12 feeder container ships, with orders placed with five state-owned shipyards.
On August 28, COSCO Shipping Holdings Co., Ltd. (COSCO Shipping Holdings) issued an announcement stating that, COSCO Asset Management Limited (COSCO Asset), a wholly-owned subsidiary of COSCO Shipping Holdings, has placed an order with Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding for twelve 22,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships and with Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding for six 3,200-TEU new-generation wide-body container ships. The total value of these shipbuilding contracts amounts to 20.274 billion yuan (approximately $3.013 billion).
Specifically, the unit cost for each new vessel in Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding’s new-build project is $224 million, with the 12 new vessels having a total value of $2.688 billion; they are expected to be delivered between 2028 and 2030; For the Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding new-vessel project, the cost per vessel is 339.8 million yuan, with the six new vessels having a total value of approximately 2.0388 billion yuan; delivery is expected between 2028 and 2029.
On the same day, China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC) confirmed via an announcement that Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding had received an order for 12 container ships. CSSC stated that the signing of this contract represents a significant achievement in the company’s continued focus on the ultra-large container ship sector. It further solidifies the company’s leading position in the global high-end shipbuilding market and will help the company optimize its product mix, increase the proportion of high-value-added vessel types, and enhance its overall competitiveness and profitability.
COSCO Shipping Holdings stated that, after comprehensively considering various factors such as environmental protection, costs, technology, global infrastructure, and policies, the newly ordered 22,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships will be equipped with green fuel technology. Given current technological and infrastructure conditions, once these vessels enter service, they will better meet customers’ growing demand for green supply chains; At the same time, these newbuilds will enhance the Group’s competitive edge on routes such as those from the Far East to Northwestern Europe. Through a phased replacement of shipping capacity, these advantages can be effectively extended to emerging markets, third-country markets, and regional markets, achieving a globally balanced deployment of the Group’s shipping capacity and propelling the dual-brand fleet toward a leap forward in development—from “global carrier” to “carrier of the world.”
Following its delivery, the new 3,200-TEU wide-body container ship is scheduled to be deployed on international regional feeder routes. Operating around core hub ports, it will further expand transport capacity in regional markets, helping COSCO Shipping enhance its customer service capabilities in relevant regional markets, leverage the core competitive advantages of its dual-brand strategy, and create favorable conditions for long-term development in emerging markets, regional markets, and third-country markets.
COSCO Shipping Holdings has invested more than 54 billion yuan (approximately $8.026 billion) in shipbuilding, for a total of 48 vessels.
In January, COSCO Shipping Holdings announced an order with Jiangnan Shipyard for 12 18,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships, with each vessel costing 1.399 billion yuan and a total value of 16.788 billion yuan; delivery is expected between 2028 and 2029; It also placed an order with COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Zhoushan) for six new 3,000-TEU wide-body conventional-fuel container ships, with a unit price of 330 million yuan, scheduled for delivery between June and December 2028.
In April, COSCO Shipping announced an order with Hudong-Zhonghua for 12 LNG-fueled dual-fuel container ships with a capacity of 13,600 TEU. The cost per vessel is $185 million (approximately 1.269 billion yuan) for a total contract value of $2.22 billion (approximately 15.227 billion yuan). Delivery is expected between the third quarter of 2028 and the first quarter of 2030.
In August, COSCO Shipping announced orders for twelve 22,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships from Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and six 3,200-TEU new-generation wide-body container ships from Huangpu Wenchong, with a total value of 20.274 billion yuan.
It is also worth noting that COSCO Shipping Holdings has released its 2026 semi-annual report. During the reporting period, COSCO Shipping Holdings reported operating revenue of 111.922 billion yuan (approximately $16.636 billion), earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 19.626 billion yuan (approximately $2.917 billion), net income of 15.7 billion yuan (approximately $2.333 billion), and net income attributable to shareholders of the listed company of 13.419 billion yuan (approximately $1.994 billion).
During the reporting period, COSCO Shipping continued to consolidate its scale advantage through a combination of newbuilds and chartered vessels. As of the end of July 2026, COSCO Shipping’s owned container ship fleet comprised 606 vessels with a capacity of approximately 3.66 million TEU; it held orders for 82 newbuilds with a capacity of approximately 1.18 million TEU; and it held charter orders (under construction) with a capacity of approximately 500,000 TEU. The combined capacity of the existing fleet and the ordered vessels has exceeded 5.3 million TEU.