• 2024 November 1 11:45

    MSC inks up $2.1bn container ship at the reborn shipyard Rongsheng Heavy Industries

    Gianluigi Aponte’s Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is said to have brought what was China’s biggest private shipbuilder back from the dead with a large container ship newbuilding deal, sending “shock waves” through the market and raising questions over its future according to Trade Winds.

    MSC has inked a contract with previously defunct Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries for 8 LNG dual-fuelled 11,000-teu container ships, with options for four more ships of the same type. If the order goes into effect, it will be the first commercial ship order received by Rongsheng Heavy Industries in nearly 10 years since it stopped production in 2015, and it will also be its first time to build a dual-fuel LNG ship.

    Ship brokers pointed out that the current construction cost of this type of LNG dual-fuel container ship is about US$170 million each, and the total price of 12 ships will be as high as US$2.04 billion (about RMB 14.533 billion). They believe that MSC may enjoy a large discount on this shipbuilding contract with Rongsheng Heavy Industries.

    As early as August this year, there were reports that Rongsheng Heavy Industries was about to restart. According to ship broker MB Shipbrokers (formerly Maersk Broker), Rongsheng Heavy Industries has obtained financial support and signed a series of 12,000TEU liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel powered containership orders with MSC, the world’s largest container shipping company.

    As early as 2022, there was news in the industry that Rongsheng Heavy Industries was accepting new ship orders and hoped to restart its shipbuilding business. In May 2022, mining giant Vale announced its plan to build 14 300,000 DWT dual-fuel very large ore carriers (VLOCs), and said it was in contact with several Chinese shipyards including Rongsheng Heavy Industries; in November, Rongsheng Heavy Industries was reported to be renamed SPS Shipyard and signed a letter of intent (LOI) with a subsidiary of Greek shipowner George Economou to build 10 bulk carriers of two types. However, according to news at that time, due to the large amount of funds, Rongsheng Heavy Industries did not make much progress in its restart.

    In its heyday, Rongsheng Heavy Industries had 4 large docks equipped with 6 sets of 900-ton gantry cranes, 1 set of 600-ton gantry crane and 1 set of 1,600-ton gantry crane, which was the largest in China at that time. It has 8 outfitting wharves and 2 material wharves, together with supporting modern facilities and equipments such as steel plate pre-treatment workshop, component factory, flat and curved section workshop, pipe manufacturing workshop, coating workshop, etc. The designed annual shipbuilding capacity is 8 million DWT. Rongsheng Heavy Industries’ No. 1 to No. 3 docks were completed between 2005 and 2009, and No. 4 dock was put into operation in 2011.

    Clarksons data shows that the last ship built by Rongsheng Heavy Industries was delivered in 2017. From 2008 to 2017, Rongsheng Heavy Industries delivered a total of 94 ships, including 16 400,000 DWT VLOCs.

    Since the beginning of this year, MSC has placed orders for 52 new LNG dual-fuel ships at several shipyards in China, with a total amount of US$10.4 billion, including 10 21,000TEU ships from Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry Co., Ltd (HT), 12 19,000TEU ships from Zhoushan Changhong International, 6 19,000TEU ships from Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS), 8+4 11,500TEU ships from Penglai Zhongbai Jinglu Ship Industry Co., Ltd. (Jinglu Shipyard) and 10+4 21,000TEU ships from Hengli Heavy Industry.

    The latest top 100 ranking released by shipping analysis agency Alphaliner shows that as the world’s largest container shipping company, MSC currently owns 868 ships, including 575 owned ships, with a total capacity of 6.19 million TEUs.

    MSC has been a strong advocate of using LNG as a marine fuel in order to fulfill its commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The company’s CEO Soren Toft said that MSC’s fleet renewal strategy includes 100 dual-fuel ships. At the same time, MSC has joined the SEA LNG Alliance, aiming to explore bio-LNG (especially renewable synthetic LNG) in collaboration with the organization.




2024 November 1

14:36 EU imposes duties on unfairly subsidised electric vehicles from China
14:23 Port of Montreal workers at two terminals start new strike
13:41 Chinese ports container volume rises 7.7 % from January to September of 2024
13:22 MOL, COSCO Co-host 6th Shanghai International LNG Shipping Forum
12:43 Global schedule reliability drops to 51.4% in September 2024
12:22 GTT secures technical services contract with Maran Tankers for eight LNG Dual-Fuel Suezmax vessels
11:45 MSC inks up $2.1bn container ship at the reborn shipyard Rongsheng Heavy Industries
11:28 China's first 'smart factory' for offshore oil, gas equipment fully operational
10:43 Yanmar completes land-based demonstration testing of a hydrogen engine for power generation in coastal vessels
10:23 Samsung Heavy wins W358 bln LNG ship order in Asia
09:58 EU greenhouse gas emissions fell by over 8% in 2023

2024 October 31

18:00 MAN receives multiple orders for MAN B&W G95ME-LGIM Mk 10.5 methanol engines to power a series of VLCV
17:23 The Marechal Duque de Caxias platform ship starts producing in the pre-salt layer
17:06 IWS Seawalker CSOV makes it 1000 ship designs from Kongsberg Maritime
16:45 “K” Line Wind Service and Japan Marine United sign agreement for Phase 2 of NEDO’s Green Innovation Fund Project
16:04 Wärtsilä introduces its innovative NextDF feature for the Wärtsilä 25DF dual-fuel engine
15:45 MOL plans to change charter contract for vessels related to Russia business
15:44 MABUX: Bunker price trends in the world's four largest hubs, Oct 8 - Nov 1, 2024
15:23 HHLA raises expectations for fiscal year 2024
14:59 Major fire extinguished at UK nuclear submarine yard
14:16 AD Ports Group and Somali Ministry of Fisheries & Blue Economy sign MoU for maritime sector development
13:44 Maersk reports Q3 results
12:43 UECC orders four advanced multi-fuel battery hybrid pure car and truck carriers from China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Nanjing
11:39 Japanese сonsortium produces design concept for eco-friendly VLCC
11:12 TMC Compressors bags contract to supply four LNG carriers
10:46 Panama Canal operating costs down 5% in FY2024
09:29 HIF Global and Antarctica21 promote sustainable tourism with e-Fuels

2024 October 30

18:00 East Java Multipurpose Terminal partners with Sinarmas LDA Usaha Pelabuhan
17:22 Container traffic at Iranian ports up 5% in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year
17:06 CIMC SOE delivers second 7,600 cbm LNG bunkering vessel to Seaspan Energy
16:42 Klaveness Combination Carriers makes first move into wind with bound4blue eSAIL system on CABU III newbuild
16:23 Transport workers' strike in Argentina to affect port operations
15:59 South Korea's seaport container cargo up 3.5 pct in Q3
15:46 Stena Line marks significant milestones in build of NewMax ships, Stena Futura and Stena Connecta
14:55 DNV and LR grant AiP to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for ammonia duel-fuel large container vessel
14:45 Jiaxing Port adds a new sea-river intermodal operation area
13:32 Maersk signs long-term methanol sourcing deal
13:08 MOL and Pyxis sign Collaboration Agreement for development and market expansion of electric vessels in Singapore and Japan
12:40 AD Ports Group and the General Department of Vietnam Customs sign MoU
12:21 TE H2, CIP, and A.P. Møller Capital Partner for a large-scale project in the Kingdom of Morocco
11:40 ClassNK issues AiP for Autonomous Navigation Assistance System developed by Samsung Heavy Industries
11:20 MacGregor launches Carbon Calculator
10:55 Russian seaports in Q3, 2024: Infographics and Analytics
10:30 World's first ammonia-fuel dual-fuel bulk carrier begins construction
10:09 Erik Thun launches the next-generation Lake Vanern Max vessel
09:03 SCHOTTEL receives an order to supply azimuth thrusters for four new escort tugs for Saltchuk Marine

2024 October 29

18:00 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announces selections for nearly $3 bln of investments in Clean Ports
17:34 Asyaport becomes first Turkish port to provide shore power to container ships
17:00 Port of Los Angeles awarded $412 million grant from U.S. EPA for zero-emission transformation
16:42 Oil spill occurred during bunkering operations at the Port of Singapore
16:10 World’s first electric hydrofoil ferry line takes off in Stockholm
15:46 Wallenius Wilhelmsen signs five-year, $766 million deal
15:29 Port of Rotterdam introducеs Geofence system as part of the first phase of the Just-in-Time sailing project
13:50 CMA CGM and Marsa Maroc join forces in a joint venture to equip and operate half of the Nador West Med container terminal
13:22 Container volume in Spanish ports up 9.9% in Q3 2024
12:50 Port Houston container volume up 1% to 329,462 TEUs in September 2024
12:11 ClassNK issues approval in principle for new membrane-type LNG carrier without filling limits
11:40 Maersk and Danone partner to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of seaborne logistics with ECO Delivery
11:12 SAFEEN Subsea launches unmanned vessel for offshore operations
10:42 ABS explores the potential of nuclear technology on LNG carriers
10:22 SITC’s revenue up 19.2% in Q3 2024
09:45 Hanwha, HD Hyundai vie for Poland’s $2.7b submarine program

2024 October 28

18:08 GTT announces its revenues for the first nine months of 2024
17:39 New Fortress Energy provides update on its initial FLNG asset
17:12 EverWind Fuels awarded $22.5 mln investment from Government of Canada for Clean Port & Green Fuels Hub
16:47 Wan Hai Lines orders eight 16,000 TEU methanol dual-fuelled containerships from Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries
16:24 BASF and AM Green enter MoU to jointly evaluate opportunities in low-carbon chemicals in India
15:59 Guangzhou Shipyard International delivers first of four ro-pax ferries to MSC
14:45 China’s first deep-sea multi-functional scientific research and archaeological vessel completes sea trials
14:24 OMS Group invests in cable-laying vessels to help meet growing global telecommunication demand