Canada-based shipping company Algoma Central Corporation has entered into construction contracts with Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding for two 740 foot Seaway Max self-unloading bulk freighters to join the company's Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Waterway dry-bulk fleet.

These new Equinox Class ships will feature a standard rear boom, with an overall length of 225.55 metres and a beam of 23.77 metres. The vessels are designed to carry 29,300 tonnes at maximum Seaway draft.

"Our search for a shipyard in China to replace the now-bankrupt Nantong Mingde Heavy Industries (Mingde) led us to Yangzijiang," said Ken Bloch Soerensen, President and CEO of Algoma.

The vessels are slated for delivery in the first half of 2018.

This new order brings the total Equinox Class vessels under construction to seven. In total, Algoma expects to invest approximately US$450m in this phase of its fleet renewal program.