Cosco Shipping Investment (Dalian) has made its shipowning debut with orders for two small LPG carriers at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Dingheng.
The company, a subsidiary of China Cosco Shipping, is currently active in the hotel, chemical storage and logistics service industries.
The cost of the two 5,500-cbm newbuildings and the delivery dates were not disclosed. But shipping sources in China suggested that they would cost more than $20m per ship.
Officials at Cosco Shipping Investment and Dingheng were not available for comment.
Cosco Shipping Investment said the gas carriers are important for the start of its LPG business and would also strengthen Cosco Shipping's presence in the LPG trade, according to local media reports.
"Dingheng's orderbook is quite packed and we think it can only deliver the LPGs in 2023," said a source.
A Chinese LPG expert believed the two LPG carriers that Cosco Shipping Investment has ordered would be used for coastal trading.
"They may also be replacement vessels for Cosco Shipping," he said.
Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation Co — a group company of Cosco Shipping — has six LPG carriers of between 3,500 cbm and 4,000 cbm, two of which date from the mid-1990s, according to Clarksons.
Cosco Shipping Investment (Dalian) was established in 2019 with the aim to invest and develop new businesses in Northeast China.
