Josco, Global Ship Lease and Peter Döhle linked to contracts for 13 box ships at CSSC

The Chinese shipbuilder disclosed on 18 June that it had signed contracts with domestic and international owners for vessels of more than 5,000 TEU.

Shipbroking and market sources indicate that Chinese shipowner Jiangsu Ocean Shipping (Josco) has placed an order for three 5,300-TEU vessels.

According to Clarksons, Josco currently has four 3,000-TEU vessels on order at Jiangsu Soho Chuangke Shipbuilding and six 1,900-TEU units under construction at Huangpu Wenchong.

The owner is also pursuing a newbuilding programme for Ultramax and Kamsarmax bulk carriers. Including vessels under construction, its fleet totals around 53 ships, according to Clarksons data.

In a separate deal, George Youroukos-led Global Ship Lease has been linked to an order for four 6,200-TEU vessels. Shipbrokers note that these ships form part of the 10-vessel order announced by the US-listed owner earlier this month.

At the time, the company said it had contracted a series of mid-sized, ultra-high-reefer, wide-beam, latest-generation container vessels for approximately US$917M, without disclosing either the shipyards involved or the vessels’ size.

The Greek owner currently operates a fleet of 71 vessels with a TEU-capacity-weighted average age of 18.2 years.

Finally, Germany’s Peter Döhle has reportedly returned to its preferred CSSC shipbuilding group for an order covering six 6,400-TEU container vessels. The company has been among the most active non-operating owners in the newbuilding market in recent years.

According to Clarksons, Peter Döhle currently has three 14,170-TEU vessels on order at Hudong-Zhonghua, four 2,900-TEU ships at Huangpu Wenchong and two 3,100-TEU vessels at Chengxi Shipyard. Its fleet spans around 70 ships across the container vessel and bulk carrier sectors.

MB Shipbrokers reported last week that Chinese shipyards continue to see solid demand for 6,000-TEU container vessel projects, with several orders either under letters of intent (LOIs) or close to finalisation.

The brokerage added that newbuilding prices remain broadly stable, while delivery slots at first-tier yards are now stretching from mid-2029 into 2030.