Chinese shipbuilder Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding has landed contracts worth $2.688bn for 12 LNG dual-fuel containerships for COSCO Asset Management or its designated wholly owned single-ship subsidiaries, according to China CSSC Holdings.
The contracts were signed on 28 August by Waigaoqiao together with China Shipbuilding Trading. Each vessel is priced at $224m, with deliveries scheduled between 2028 and 2030. The ships will have an actual capacity of 21,700 TEU, while COSCO Shipping Holdings classifies them as 22,000-TEU vessels based on their dimensions and technical specifications.
COSCO plans to pay for each vessel in five instalments linked to construction progress. It expects to finance no more than 70% of each ship’s contract price through external debt or bank loans, with the remainder funded from internal resources.
The company sought preliminary quotations from several shipyards before selecting Waigaoqiao, citing an earlier delivery schedule and technical capabilities that met its requirements. Waigaoqiao’s price was around the middle of the quotations received and broadly comparable with the lowest bids.
The vessels are intended for COSCO’s global container network, including Far East-Northwest Europe services. Capacity released through the deployment of the new ships is also expected to support emerging, non-China and regional markets.
China CSSC Holdings expects the long contract execution period to mean the order will have no material impact on current-period profit. Successful execution is expected to contribute to future revenue and earnings, while changes in shipping and shipbuilding markets and US dollar-renminbi exchange rates were identified as contract risks.
COSCO Asset Management separately contracted CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding and China Shipbuilding Trading for six 3,200-TEU wide-beam containerships at RMB339.8m ($50.5m) each, or RMB2.0388bn ($303.1m) in total, for delivery between 2028 and 2029.
China CSSC Holdings is controlled by state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation. Waigaoqiao is its wholly owned subsidiary, while China Shipbuilding Trading is directly wholly owned by China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
COSCO Asset Management is a wholly owned subsidiary of COSCO Shipping Holdings.