COSCO inks deal for 12 LNG dual-fuel box ships

COSCO Shipping Holdings subsidiary COSCO Asset Management has signed contracts for the construction of a dozen LNG dual-fuel vessels with Jiangnan Shipyard and China Shipbuilding Trading.

The group plans to obtain external financing for up to 60% of the contract price for each vessel, with the remaining 40% funded by internal resources.

The vessels have a capacity of 18,000 TEU, with deliveries expected between 2028 and 2029.

According to Alphaliner, the vessels are based on Jiangnan’s inhouse 18,000-TEU LNG design. Jiangnan has previously delivered 5,100, 4,700, and 21,000 TEU container ships to COSCO.

COSCO Shipping Holdings has ordered the vessels to boost fleet capacity. The new vessels are planned for deployment on East-West routes to optimise cost structures and enhance service quality.

These box ships will replace older vessels to improve the overall fleet structure and achieve economies of scale.

The ships are COSCO’s first to be powered by LNG. Before this announcement, the company had announced methanol dual-fuel container vessels.

The company has also ordered six 3,000-TEU conventionally powered vessels at COSCO Zhoushan Shipyard. The overall cost for the 18 newbuilds comes to around US$2.7Bn.