China’s Penglai Zhongbai Jinglu Ship Industry is selling two ultramax bulker newbuildings that are set for delivery from the second quarter of next year.
Shipbuilding sources said seven to eight shipping companies are vying for the pair of 63,500-dwt bulk carrier newbuildings that the Shandong-based shipyard is selling.
TradeWinds learned that Penglai Jinglu will try to build the bulk carriers “to meet” the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) Phase 3 compliance for greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the existing International Maritime Organization’s Tier III NOx standard.
Officials at Penglai Jinglu were not contactable for comment.
Greece’s Laskaridis Group has been identified as one of the shipping companies keen to buy the ultramaxes. However, a source close to the Athens-based owner denied any such notion.
“The early rare delivery dates for the newbuildings is the main reason that has attracted the buyers,” a shipbuilding broker said. “The current strong charter rate for ultramax bulk carriers of high $20,000 per day is another reason that backs up the buying interests.”
Brokers said some shipyards may still have early berth slots to offer, but the majority will not be able to build the vessels due to the short supply of main engines and crankshafts.
Suppliers of these are unable to meet the rising demand for the ships’ parts due to a surge in newbuilding orders.
“Penglai Jinglu managed to procure the main engines for the newbuildings early and is now hoping to make some profits on the bulk carriers,” he said.
Shipbuilding sources said the Chinese shipyard did not set a selling price for the bulk carriers but shipping companies are offering at least $31m per ship. They believed Penglai Jinglu may be able to sell the duo for between $34m and $35m each as Chinese shipyards could fetch around $32m and $33m for ultramax newbuilding to be delivered from the first or second quarter of 2024 under the current shipbuilding market.
Ralph Leszczynski, Banchero Costa’s Singapore-based head of research, said the spot market for ultramax bulkers has been good over the last year and remains decent today.
"The orderbook for ultramax bulker newbuildings is fairly modest and there should not be much negative pressure on rates in the next few years," he said.
“I think there should be more premium than discount for earlier delivery.”
Described as a second-tier shipyard in China, brokers think the two ultramax bulkers that Penglai Jinglu is selling may fetch more than the newbuildings that were contracted by some of the top-tier yards in the country.
As examples, they cited the newbuilding contracts that were inked by shipping newcomer Huaxia Financial Leasing (HXFL) and Bank of Communications Financial Leasing (Bocomm Leasing).
Last October, HXFL was reported to have ordered two 64,000-dwt bulker newbuildings at Sino-Japanese shipbuilder Nantong Cosco KHI Ship Engineering (Nacks) for $32m each for delivery in October and December 2023.
Bocomm Leasing signed up for eight ultramax bulkers at Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry Zhoushan for a similar price. The octet is due to be delivered between July 2023 and September 2024.
