Shanghai-listed Ningbo Marine is lining up another five bulk carrier newbuildings in China， expanding a fleet renewal programme that could see the owner add close to 600，000 dwt of fresh tonnage.

The Zhejiang Energy-backed company has approved up to CNY980m ($136m) for four 65，000 dwt bulkers， while wholly owned Ningbo Marine Singapore has been cleared to spend up to $36.5m on an 82，000 dwt ship. The smaller quartet is being earmarked for domestic trades， while the kamsarmax will target the international market.

Both investments were cleared by the board and remain at the preparatory stage. Ningbo Marine will use public tenders to select Chinese builders before signing binding shipbuilding contracts， with financing expected to come from a mix of internal funds， bank debt and other sources. No delivery dates or propulsion details have been disclosed.

The latest move comes on top of four 64，000 dwt ultramaxes Ningbo Marine lined up in 2024， a deal first reported by Splash. The company eventually firmed all four ships at Jiangsu Haitong Marine Engineering Equipment， with deliveries scheduled between August and December 2027. The programme carries an investment ceiling of CNY1.165bn.

Ningbo Marine’s half-year report said the four ships have moved into preparations for construction. The latest five-ship plan would add another 342，000 dwt， taking the company’s prospective dry bulk newbuild pipeline to nine vessels and 598，000 dwt — equivalent to almost 40% of its existing fleet capacity.

The owner had 29 ships totalling about 1.5m dwt at the end of June， comprising 28 bulkers of 1.49m dwt and a single 12，000 dwt product tanker. Its dry fleet is weighted heavily towards handymax and panamax tonnage， alongside one capesize.

Ningbo Marine has also been clearing out older tonnage， selling two bulkers in March last year. Its fleet averaged 14.5 years of age at the end of 2024.

The expansion also comes as the company scales up its shipping business beyond its core domestic coal trades. First-half cargo volumes jumped 55.5% year on year to 39.2m tonnes， while waterborne transport revenue rose 82.4% to CNY1.69bn. Ningbo Marine has increasingly tapped chartered tonnage to handle the growth， with ship leasing costs climbing 169% to CNY1.18bn during the period.

Ningbo Marine’s core business remains coal and other dry bulk transportation along the Chinese coast and Yangtze River， as well as import trades carrying coal and ore from Australia， Indonesia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The company sits within state-owned Zhejiang Energy Group’s energy supply chain.