COSCO Shipping makes waves with 42-bulk carrier mega deal

Chinese shipping heavyweight COSCO Shipping has signed an investment, construction and leasing agreement for 42 bulk carriers in a major fleet expansion push.

Under the agreement, signed on August 30, 2024, the company will entrust a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry to invest in the construction of 20 bulk carriers and CSSC Chengxi to invest in the construction of 22 bulk carriers.

This includes five 64,000-ton ships, two 82,000-ton ships and 35 80,000-ton ships. The value of the deal is RMB 14.3 billion ($1.69 billion).

The ships in this transaction are energy-saving and environmentally friendly green ships, some of which are methanol-ready, environmentally friendly bulk carriers.

These ships will be delivered in succession from 2026 to 2027 and will be leased to COSCO Shipping Bulk for the long term.

In the face of the ship leasing market with both challenges and opportunities in recent years, COSCO Shipping Development has actively seized the opportunity of the green and low-carbon transformation of the shipping industry.

Recently, COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry and COSCO Shipping Container Lines have signed a contract for the construction of twelve 14,000 TEU containerships with dual-fuel methanol propulsion.

COSCO highlighted that the new vessels will be equipped with “the world’s most powerful” permanent magnet shaft generator, a bow wind deflector, an air lubrication system for the hull and intelligent systems. These technologies are expected to fulfill the third phase of EEDI energy efficiency indicators and the latest cyber security regulations.

In the future, the Chinese firm plans to focus on new ways of ‘digital intelligence’ and ‘green and low-carbon’, as well as to strive for innovation and accelerate upgrades. The company currently owns more than 140 ships and has layouts in multiple sub-sectors such as container ships, bulk carriers, and multi-purpose pulp ships.