Shipowner Navibulgar has extended its bulker orderbook with six more handysize vessels, sources say.
The company is said to have inked two sets of newbuildings at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding worth more than $200m.
According to shipbuilding players, Navibulgar has ordered three 32,000-dwt bulk carriers and three others of 45,000 dwt at the Jiangsu-based shipyard.
They added that the newbuilding contracts were signed some time ago, but the deals were never reported.
The deal brings the Bulgarian owner’s tally of newbuildings on order at the Chinese shipyard to nine.
Navibulgar’s earlier three 32,000-dwt newbuildings (Hull Nos YZJ2022-1450, 1451 and 1452) were ordered two years ago.
They were reported to cost $32m apiece and are slated to be delivered next year.
Officials at Yangzijiang declined to comment when contacted citing contract confidentiality. Navibulgar has been contacted for comment.
Brokers believed Navibulgar is paying at least $34m each for its latest newbuildings. They said the vessels are more expensive than standard conventional handysizes as they are lakes-fitted bulkers.
The newbuildings will be built to meet the Energy Efficiency Design Index Phase 3 standards for greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the International Maritime Organization’s Tier III NOx standards.
Navibulgar has listed the series of newbuildings on its website. The 45,000-dwt vessels are listed as Hull Nos YZJ2024 – 1657, 1658 and 1669 while the 32,000-dwt ships are Hull Nos YZJ2044 – 1631, 1632 and 1633.
Yangzijiang is scheduled to deliver the smaller bulkers in 2026 and the 45,000-dwt ships in 2027.
Navibulgar has been consistently ordering new lakes-fitted bulkers at Yangzijiang since 2020.
In the four years, it booked a total of 18 vessels, bringing its spending there to about $540m.
Navibulgar is focusing on bulkers up to 45,500 dwt. Its website shows it has 33 bulkers trading, ranging between 21,500 dwt and 45,500 dwt.
The shipping company harbours an ambition to be “one of the leading shipowners in Europe in the sector of the so-called handysize bulk carriers”.
Yangzijiang is the largest privately owned shipyard in China.
The company has already secured $11.64bn worth of newbuildings so far this year, exceeding its $4.5bn target.
It has already committed some of its 2029 berths for the newbuildings.
The shipbuilder has 224 newbuildings worth $22.14bn on its orderbook, with green vessels accounting for about 75% of the total value.
Yangzijiang will be expanding its shipbuilding capacity.
It plans to invest CNY 3bn ($413m) over the next two years in facilities to construct LNG carriers and other clean-energy vessels.
The new base is next to Jiangsu Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding.
