Chinese shipyard's 'old friend' Japan places order for eco-friendly bulk carrier

A long-time partner of Chinese shipyards, Foremost Group has chosen a Japanese shipyard to build the world's most environmentally friendly bulk carriers.

On July 18, Foremost Group and Namura Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. signed a contract for the construction of two 181,500-dwt Capesize bulk carriers. This is the first time Foremost Group has placed an order with Namura Shipbuilding.

It is understood that the shipbuilding and chartering contracts were signed at a ceremony held at the Harvard Club in New York City. Dr. Zhao Xicheng, founder and honorary chairman of Foremost Group, attended the signing ceremony, along with Foremost Group Chairman Zhao Anji, Namura Shipbuilding President Kenji Namura, senior management from the charterer NYK Line, and Japanese Consul-General in New York Mori Mikio.

According to the agreement, the two new vessels are expected to be delivered in 2024 and will be among the world's most environmentally friendly bulk carriers. Foremost Group also signed a long-term charter contract with NYK Line for each vessel for seven years, which will be used to transport major dry bulk commodities such as iron ore and bauxite.

According to International Ship Network, this is Namura Shipbuilding's newly developed 182,000-dwt bulk carrier series. With an overall length of 291.92 meters, a width of 45 meters, a summer load draft of 18.20 meters, a gross tonnage of 93,719 tons, and a deadweight tonnage of 182,063 tons, the vessel complies with the Common Structural Rules (CSR-BC&OT), strengthening the hull structure; it also meets the performance standards for ballast tank coatings (PSPC-WBT regulations) to prevent ballast tank corrosion, improving the safety of the vessel.

A 182,000-dwt bulk carrier built by Namura Shipbuilding's Imari shipyard

This series of vessels will be among the first bulk carriers to meet the requirements of the third phase of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI). The vessels are equipped with the latest MAN B&W 6G70ME-C9.5 electronically controlled engines, meeting the latest Tier III NOx emission standards. Many energy-saving devices have been incorporated into the hull optimization and ship design, including Namura Shipbuilding's independently developed "Namura flow Control Fin (NCF)", "Flat-FIN", "Rudder Fin", and "Pre-swirl Stator Fin" technologies, which have significantly improved propulsion efficiency by more than 10%. The vessels are upgraded with the latest energy-saving coatings, and the design has also been upgraded to safely consume biofuels. Compared with traditional heavy fuel oil, biofuels can further reduce CO2 emissions by 20%.

It is understood that Foremost Group and NYK Line have maintained a stable cooperative relationship for decades. Currently, Foremost Group leases many vessels to NYK Line through regular charter contracts. Foremost Group stated that the latest order shows that the cooperation between the two companies has been deepened and strengthened, and the seven-year lease term "once again demonstrates NYK Line's trust in Foremost Group, its management, and its vessels".

Foremost Group is a globally important dry bulk shipping company that has played an important role in the development of global economic trade. Clarkson's data shows that Foremost Group currently operates a fleet of 32 bulk carriers with a total carrying capacity of approximately 4.86 million deadweight tons. The vast majority of Foremost Group's bulk carriers were built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, in addition to 10 Kamsarmax bulk carriers built by Japan's Oshima Shipbuilding, 2 Kamsarmax vessels built by CSSC Chengxi, and 3 180,000-dwt Capesize vessels built by Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding.

The latest order for two Capesize vessels marks the first time Foremost Group has collaborated with Namura Shipbuilding. Foremost Group Chairman Zhao Anji said: "Namura Shipbuilding has an impeccable reputation and has delivered some of the world's best Capesize bulk carriers. Currently, Namura Shipbuilding continues to innovate and build the world's most environmentally friendly, lowest carbon footprint, and lowest NOx emission Capesize bulk carriers. We are pleased to add these new vessels to our fleet, ensuring that Foremost Group remains at the forefront of environmental protection."

It is understood that Namura Shipbuilding is one of Japan's leading Capesize bulk carrier builders. Clarkson's data shows that Namura Shipbuilding currently has a total order backlog of 14 vessels with 2.2126 million deadweight tons, including 12 bulk carriers and 2 VLGCs. Except for one 95,000-ton coal carrier, the other 11 bulk carriers under construction by Namura Shipbuilding are all Capesize vessels.

In the past two years, the Japanese shipbuilding industry has shown signs of recovery, with new orders growing steadily. In particular, environmentally friendly bulk carriers have become a hallmark of Japanese shipbuilders, with most shipyards accumulating two years' worth of orders, and some shipyards having enough orders to cover the next two and a half years of work. In the first half of this year, Japanese shipbuilders received a total of 164 orders for 7,463,360 GT, including 45 cargo ships (including container ships, general cargo ships, and car carriers), 112 bulk carriers, 6 tankers, and 1 other vessel.

As of the end of June this year, Japanese shipbuilders had an order backlog of approximately 458 vessels and 21.88 million GT, higher than the 20.86 million GT at the end of May, reaching the highest level in two years and ten months since late August 2019 (22.16 million GT) before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.