Taiwan’s Chinese Maritime Transport (CMT) is splashing out about $320m on newcastlemax bulker newbuildings.
The listed shipping company said it has contracted domestic shipyard CSBC Corp to build two 210,000-dwt vessels. The deal includes an option for an additional pair.
CMT said it had ordered the newbuildings as part of the company’s fleet renewal programme.
It did not disclose their exact cost but pegged the per-ship price at between $76m and $79.8m.
Industry observers said the price suggests these are conventional-fuelled bulk carriers.
One shipbuilding source said CMT’s newcastlemax bulkers will also be readied to run on LNG and ammonia.
He added that the vessels will comply with Phase 3 of the International Maritime Organization’s Energy Efficiency Design Index and Tier III NOx standards.
They will also be equipped with additional eco features, such as shaft generators and alternative maritime power.
CMT’s contract is CSBC’s first newcastlemax bulker deal in six years.
The last time the shipbuilder secured orders for the vessel type was in early 2018 when China Steel Express booked two bulkers.
CSBC has since delivered the pair — the China Steel Brilliance (built 2019) and China Steel Prestige (built 2020).
A state-owned company, CSBC has been sitting on a thin orderbook for the past few years as it refused to take on loss-making deals.
Two weeks ago, the shipyard secured a newbuilding order worth around $1.2bn from liner company Wan Hai Lines for up to 16 methanol dual-fuelled neo-panamax container ships.
The deal was for 12 firm newbuildings plus an option for four additional vessels.
CMT was founded in Shanghai in 1946 and moved to Taiwan in 1949. It has a fleet of 14 large bulk carriers. Three were built between 2005 and 2009.
Earlier this year, the company took delivery of two conventional newcastlemaxes from China’s Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry — the 210,000-dwt China Ace and China Vista (both built 2024).
It ordered the duo in 2021 for a reported price of $63m each. VesselsValue lists their market value at about $75m per ship.
