China's COSCO Shipping Development announced on July 29 that it will invest in the construction and long-term lease of 14 new vessels, including 10 bulk carriers and four asphalt carriers, and will also launch a sale and leaseback of one LNG carrier.
The company will invest over RMB5.2 billion ($724.5 million) in 10 new 210,000DWT Newcastlemax bulk carriers that will be prepared for future use of methanol and ammonia fuels. Four of the ships will be built by Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding and six will be built by Zhoushan COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry. After delivery, they will be leased to COSCO Shipping Bulk or its designated subsidiaries.
A second project will see the company invest over RMB800 million in four new 9,000-ton asphalt carriers. Two of the vessels will be built by Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding, and two ice-reinforced vessels will be built by Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding. These will be leased to subsidiaries of COSCO Shipping Specialized Transport.
The company also announced it is engaged in a sale and leaseback for a 271,000-cubic-metre LNG carrier, with a purchase price not exceeding $360.7 million.