Cosco Shipping Development has signed an investment, construction and leasing agreement for 42 bulk carriers, which the company says marks the largest shipbuilding and leasing transaction since the company transformed into a shipping industry and finance operator in 2016.
According to the transaction, 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, including five 64,000t ships, two 82,000t ships and 35 80,000t ships, with a total ship order value of more than RMB 14.3bn. These ships will be delivered in succession from 2026 to 2027 and will be leased to Cosco Shipping Bulk for a long term. The ships in this transaction will be energy-saving and environmentally friendly green ships, some of which are to be delivered methanol-ready.
In the face of the ship leasing market with both challenges and opportunities in recent years, Cosco Shipping Development says it has actively seized the opportunity of the green and low-carbon transformation of the shipping industry, studied and explored the market potential in the sub-sectors, and accurately matched customer needs to provide solutions.
As an industry and finance operator focusing on the main line of the shipping and logistics industry, the company currently owns more than 140 ships in multiple sectors including container ships, bulk carriers, and multi-purpose pulp ships. Through this transaction, the scale of the company’s high-quality ship assets is expected to leap forward significantly, after the company ordered bulk carriers and multi-purpose pulp ships in the early stage. The company has invested in high-quality shipping capacity with newer ship types, green and environmentally friendly, and versatile, laying the foundation for further consolidating the high-quality assets of the company’s shipping leasing business, highlighting the strategic positioning of shipping industry and finance operators, and helping the company to accelerate its progress towards the goal of value-oriented industry and finance investors and innovative industry and finance service providers.
Image: Cosco plans to build 42 new green bulkers (source: Cosco Shipping Developments)