COSCO Orders 12 LNG Dual-Fuel Container Ships for $2.2B

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COSCO Shipping Holdings, a leading Chinese container shipping company, announced plans to invest $2.2 billion in twelve 13,600 TEU liquefied natural gas dual-fuel container ships. This marks their third significant order of the year, with the goal of ensuring stable and reliable long-term capacity to support growth in emerging and regional markets.

The ships will be built by CSSC Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group for COSCO Shipping’s subsidiary, Orient Overseas International. The construction is scheduled to begin with deliveries expected between the third quarter of 2028 and the first quarter of 2030.

After this recent agreement, the total capacity of COSCO Shipping’s owned and ordered fleet exceeds approximately 4.84 million TEU.

Once these new vessels are operational, COSCO Shipping plans to bolster its competitiveness on traditional transatlantic routes to Europe and the U.S. and expand its feeder network around key hub ports, including the Port of Piraeus in Greece, the Port of Chancay in Peru, and Hainan Yangpu Port.

The investment is also aimed at updating the company’s fleet by increasing the average capacity per vessel, reducing transportation costs, and adopting greener fuels to lower carbon emissions and meet client demands for zero-carbon supply chains. Using alternative green fuels is expected to also lower expenses related to carbon emission allowances.

Earlier this year, COSCO Shipping allocated approximately CNY16.8 billion (about $2.3 billion) for twelve 18,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel vessels and CNY2 billion (around $272 million) for six smaller 3,000 TEU ships. The larger ships are mainly intended for east-west trade routes, while the smaller ones will serve as feeders on international routes.

In a separate release, COSCO Shipping reported that net profit for the first quarter was halved year-over-year, reaching CNY5.9 billion, primarily due to a decline in freight rates. However, compared to the previous quarter, profits increased by 55%. Operating revenue for the period decreased by 11%, totaling CNY51.8 billion.

As of March 31, the company operated a fleet of 598 container ships with a combined capacity of 3.62 million TEU. Its container throughput for the first quarter reached 6.9 million TEU, reflecting a 6.7% increase from the previous year.

Shares of the company closed 1.7% lower in Shanghai at CNY14.12 (about $2.07) per share. Meanwhile, the stock of Orient Overseas declined 0.9% to HKD136.60 (approximately $17.43) in Hong Kong trading as of mid-afternoon.