Cido Shipping is expanding and renewing its fleet with a flurry of newbuilding deals worth close to $2.7bn, sources say.
Its haul, secured during the last four months, runs to 36 ships and sees the shipowner boost its fleet in existing segments and take it into new areas of the tanker market.
Shipbuilding sources said tanker newbuildings make up the bulk of Cido’s ordering, with a smaller share of pure car/truck carriers.
The Hyuk Kwon-owned company is said to have ordered 24 tankers at Hyundai yards and Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co.
It is also understood to have added 12 LNG dual-fuel PCTC newbuildings at China Merchants Heavy Industries Jiangsu (CMHI Jiangsu).
Cido did not reply to email queries on the newbuildings.
The haul is said to span four suezmax tankers, 14 LR2 tankers, up to eight MR tankers and a series of 7,600-ceu PCTCs.
Both the suezmax and LR2 trades represent fresh territory for Cido, which is presently active in the VLCC and MR segments.
Ulsan-based HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is said to have been contracted by Cido to build four suezmaxes to be delivered in 2027.
The owner is said to be paying close to $91m each for the conventional fuelled crude carriers. The newbuilding price includes scrubbers.
Cido has also struck a deal with Hyundai Vietnam Shipbuilding for aframax product carriers and MR tankers. The contract involved four LR2 ships and up to eight 50,000-dwt product carriers — four firm ships, plus an option for an additional four.
Delivery of the 115,000-dwt product tankers is set for 2028, while the firm MR tanker newbuildings are slated for 2027.
Sources said Cido will pay $70m per ship for the LR2s, with the MR tankers coming with a price tag of around $47m apiece. It is understood these figures do not include scrubbers.
Cido has also commissioned China’s Shanhaiguan Shipbuilding to build 10 conventional marine-fuelled LR2 tankers for $55m or $58.5m apiece. They are set for delivery in 2028.
Cido’s move to boost its car carrier fleet with fresh tonnage represents its first order in the sector for almost two decades.
It is understood to have contracted a dozen LNG dual-fuel 7,600-ceu newbuildings at CMHI Jiangsu in a deal brokers are pricing at $90m per vessel.
Cido is scheduled to take delivery of three vessels in 2027, four in 2028, four in 2029 and one in 2030. This is possibly the first time that a shipyard has sold its 2030 shipbuilding slot.
Cido is owned by Hyuk Kwon, a former employee of Hyundai Motor in Japan. He went into shipping and became a shipowner in 1990 with backing from a Japanese trading house.
Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network lists Cido with a fleet of 72 ships, of which 37 are car carriers. The dozen newly ordered car carriers are expected to replace several ageing vessels, as the company currently operates vessels over 20 years old.
Cido also has six ultramax and six kamsarmax bulk carrier newbuildings on order at Chinese shipyards and two 8,000-teu boxships under construction at HD Hyundai Samho Industries to be delivered between this year and 2026.
The company ordered the boxships in 2022 and the bulk carriers in 2023.
