Norway's Blystad taps Chinese yard for containership newbuildings

Norwegian shipping company the Blystad Group has placed orders for three new container vessels in a series to be built by state-owned Penglai Zhongbai Jinglu Ship Industry in China.

The 3,000TEU ships are scheduled to be delivered to the Blystad Group by 2027 under the US$129 million contract. Once in service, the vessels will be among the largest in the owner's fleet.

These constitute Blystad's first purchases of containership newbuildings since August 2021, when the group sold off its Songa Container business unit to Norwegian owner MPC Container Ships.

Blystad had also acquired secondhand vessels from other shipowners since late 2024. Two ships were earlier purchased from Belgium's CMB, one had been bought from Germany's Leonhardt and Blumberg, and a 2,550TEU vessel had been acquired from Japan's Santoku Senpaku for approximately US$27 million.

Blystad's current fleet consists of nine feeder containerships built between 2007 and 2024 and ranging in capacity from 1,700 TEUs to 2,600 TEUs.