Chinese giant Cosco Shipping Co Ltd (Cosco) has earmarked $1.5bn to refresh its fleet.
Shanghai-listed Coscol will use the cash to buy up to 40 new vessels as replacements for older ships, chief operating officer Guo Jing told the South China Morning Post.
He says the process will take between four and five years.
Last November, the company planned to add 18 multipurpose and heavylift vessels to its fleet “over the long run”, without specifying an exact timeframe.
According to the Clarksons database, the company has an existing fleet of 69 vessels, close to half of which are multipurpose or heavylift vessels.
The company’s orderbook of 22 vessels is made up exclusively of MPP/heavylift units, eight of which will be delivered in 2011, six in 2012 and another eight in 2012.