China’s New Dayang Shipbuilding has stacked its large orderbook with more ultramax bulkers after winning a contract for a series of conventionally fuelled newbuildings.
The Jiangsu-based shipyard signed a four-vessel deal with China Construction Bank Financial Leasing (CCB FL) for two firm 64,000-dwt ships plus two options.
A New Dayang official told TradeWinds his company is scheduled to deliver the two firm vessels from the end of 2026.
The official declined to disclose the price but said the project was agreed “some time” ago and the deal was officially signed recently.
Brokers believe CCB FL is paying less than $34m per vessel, as discussions began last year.
The bulkers will be built to the yard’s Crown 63-Plus ultramax in-house design and meet the International Maritime Organization’s Energy Efficiency Design Index Phase 3 standard.
The leasing arm of China Construction Bank, CCB FL is said to have ordered the vessels against charter contracts from Chinese shipping newcomer Bohai Ocean Transportation.
A state-owned entity, Bohai Shipping Hebei, was established in December 2022 by Hebei Transportation Investment Group, Hesteel Group, Hebei Port Group and Hebei Construction & Investment Group, with a registered capital of CNY 900m ($125m).
The company was set up to strengthen Hebei province’s shipping industry.
Bohai Shipping Hebei operates several chartered bulkers ranging from ultramaxes to newcastlemaxes.
It is due to take delivery of three 83,000-dwt kamsarmax newbuildings from Hengli Heavy Industry this year and in 2025. It has chartered the trio from Everbright Financial Leasing.
The trio was originally ordered by Chinese owner Fortune Ocean, but it novated the contracts over to Everbright last year.
The CCB FL order is an important deal for New Dayang, as this is the first time the leasing company has ordered ships at the yard.
The shipyard is popular among Chinese leasing companies such as AVIC Leasing, China Merchants Bank Financial Leasing and China Development Bank Financial Leasing.
New Dayang, formerly Dayang Shipbuilding, became state-owned in 2018 when former creditor Sumec Marine, a subsidiary of China National Machinery Industry Corp, took it over.
The medium-size shipbuilder is known for its in-house propriety design series of supramax and ultramax bulkers.
The yard is equipped with one dry dock and one slipway and, having built up an orderbook of 63 vessels, is now selling some 2027 newbuilding slots.
