Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries has bagged orders for 14 panamax-bulker newbuildings worth close to $500m.
Shipbuilding players say a Greek and a domestic owner are behind the orders. State-backed China Ship Fund and Golden Union of Greece are said to have booked 10 and four newbuildings of 76,000 dwt, respectively.
“We believe the owners are paying between $31.5m and $32m each for the ships,” said one market source. “Rongsheng will deliver them in 2012 and 2013.”
Tianjin-based freight forwarder and container carrier Centrans Ocean Shipping Logistics Group booked the panamaxes on behalf of China Ship Fund. It is believed to be the first order that China Ship Fund has firmed up this year.
The fund, which was established in 2008 with the support from the central government, is said to have booked around 22 bulker newbuildings worth $1.5bn at domestic shipyards through Centrans. Centrans is a member of the fund and chairman Xu Hui is said to have assumed the role of chief executive of the fund’s management company.
Meanwhile, industry players say China Ship Fund is putting off ordering a series of tanker newbuildings due to a lack of finance.
“The Chinese banks are cutting back on shipping funds and this resulted in China Ship Fund postponing its tanker newbuildings,” said one source.
In March, China Ship Fund was said to have approached state-owned shipyards under the umbrella of China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIS) for VLCC newbuildings. Dalian Shipbuilding Industry was approached to construct 11 vessels, while Qingdao Beihai and Bohai Shipbuilding were asked to build five and four ships, respectively. The 20-VLCC contract is estimated to be worth close to $2bn.