China's COSCO Shipping taps local yard to build Newcastlemax bulker pair

China's COSCO Shipping has awarded China State Shipbuilding Corporation's Beihai Shipbuilding a contract for the construction of two Newcastlemax bulk carriers.

The two ships are scheduled to be delivered in October and December 2027, respectively. The total contract price was not disclosed.

The contract awarded to Beihai Shipbuilding also includes options for up to 10 additional bulk carriers from the same series.

COSCO Shipping is meanwhile also considering placing further orders for Newcastlemax ships with at least two other Chinese yards.

The ships to be built by Beihai Shipbuilding will be operated under lease by COSCO Shipping subsidiary COSCO Shipping Bulk. In the future, these ships will be operated by COSCO Shipping Bulk alongside 42 other vessels, which are all still under construction at CSSC Chengxi Shipbuilding (22 ships) and three of COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry's shipyards (13, five and two, respectively).

The 42 other ships are being built in fulfilment of contracts with a total value of approximately CNY12.7 billion (US$1.76 billion).