China Merchants spends $1.4bn to take global newcastlemax orderbook past 100 units
China Merchants Shipping has lined up a massive newcastlemax shipbuilding programme at two domestic yards.
Shipbuilding sources report the group’s Ming Wah Shipping forking out nearly $1.4bn ($1.385bn) for up to eighteen 210,000 dwt units spread across New Times Shipbuilding and CSSC Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding.
New Times will take on eight firm and two optional newbuilding projects costing between $76.5m and $78m each, with deliveries expected in 2028.
Meanwhile, eight newbuilds have been earmarked for Qingdao Beihai, with six costing $76.5m apiece for delivery in 2028, while two other units should deliver in 2026 at $80.5m each.
Brokers at Arrow said the price levels achieved seem to be “dramatically higher” than last done, pushing their Chinese newcastlemax newbuilding benchmark upwards by more than 10% in three weeks.
“This price uptick is driven by a severe lack of capacity for large bulker construction, with builders capturing better returns in other asset classes,” the London-based shipbroking giant noted.
While the overall capesize orderbook remains minimal, a noticeable trend over the past 18 months has been owners opting to supersize and go for newcastlemaxes over the traditional 180,000 dwt standard vessels. There are approximately five times as many newcastlemaxes on order today compared to standard 180,000 dwt capes.
The growth of the newcastlemax orderbook was discussed during last week’s iron ore session at Geneva Dry, the world’s premier commodities shipping conference.
William Fairclough, managing director of Hong Kong shipowner Wah Kwong, pointed out that the newbuild price differential between the two bulker sizes was just $2m to $3m, and that Chinese yards in particular were pushing for newcastlemax orders over standard capes. Fellow panellist John Michael Radziwill, who heads up Monaco-based C Transport Maritime, hailed the 180,000 dwt ship types for being far more flexible.
