Two types, 8 vessels, 3.2 billion yuan! South China's largest shipyard welcomes a wave of overseas orders

Recently, Huangpu Wenchong, the largest shipyard in South China, has received orders for a total of eight new vessels from two overseas shipowners, with a total value of 3.2 billion yuan.

Increased to 8! G2 Ocean orders another 4 ammonia/methanol fuel-ready handysize bulk carriers

G2 Ocean, a shipping company jointly established by two Norwegian shipowners, Grieg Maritime and GEARBULK, announced an expansion of its fleet, adding 2+2 82,300-dwt ammonia/methanol fuel-ready handysize bulk carriers at Huangpu Wenchong. This construction contract was signed by GEARBULK and Huangpu Wenchong. The first two vessels are expected to be delivered in the first half of 2027 and join the G2 Ocean joint venture fleet.

These new vessels, with an overall length of 225 meters and a width of 36 meters, will be equipped with eight cargo cranes and four electric hydraulic slewing cranes, two with a safe working load (SWL) of 75 tons and two with a safe working load of 120 tons. G2 Ocean did not disclose the specific price of the new vessels. For reference, Grieg Maritime ordered four bulk carriers of the same design from Huangpu Wenchong last year at a price of US$50 million per vessel. Based on this calculation, the latest four orders are worth at least US$200 million (approximately 1.446 billion yuan).

Including the latest order, G2 Ocean has eight vessels of the same series under construction at Huangpu Wenchong. Arthur English, CEO of G2 Ocean, said: "This expansion increases our carrying capacity, demonstrating our commitment to further developing the company while providing world-class service to our global customers."

Kristian Jebsen, CEO of GEARBULK, pointed out: "This new order marks a significant milestone for GEARBULK, as these vessels will be the largest and most efficient vessels in the company's history. Through this investment, we have not only improved operational efficiency, but also reaffirmed our commitment to meeting the evolving needs of global trade."

It is understood that in May last year, Grieg Maritime signed a construction contract with Huangpu Wenchong for 2+2 82,300-dwt bulk carriers. In September of the same year, the optional order was confirmed and took effect. All four vessels will be delivered within 2026 and join the G2 Ocean fleet. These are also the largest vessels in the Grieg Maritime fleet.

It is introduced that this type of vessel is a new generation of multi-purpose pulp carriers, designed to meet the requirements of the "Fuel ready(Ammonia[D,S,MEc,])" class notation. The deck reserves space for C-type fuel tanks, and the hull's overall strength meets the requirements for fuel tanks and ammonia fuel loading. Space is reserved for the ammonia fuel system and piping layout, facilitating future conversion to ammonia fuel power. The design includes a large-capacity low-sulfur oil tank to meet sulfur oxide emission requirements; both main and auxiliary engines are equipped with SCR systems to meet Tier III emission requirements; EEDI meets Phase 3 requirements, which is more than 60% lower than the baseline. The entire vessel uses more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly LED lighting fixtures and is equipped with a large-capacity shore power system to effectively reduce energy consumption during daily voyages and berthing at the wharf.

At the same time, this type of vessel has high cargo adaptability, with eight cargo holds throughout the vessel. The box-type cargo holds are customized according to the size of the cargo, effectively improving the actual loading capacity of the cargo holds. In addition to pulp, it can also carry timber, bulk cargo, large-sized cargo, and containers.

It is understood that G2 Ocean was jointly established by Grieg Maritime and GEARBULK in 2017. It currently operates more than 120 handysize vessels and is the world's largest 50,000-70,000-dwt handysize vessel shipping company.

It is worth mentioning that this order from G2 Ocean is the largest tonnage multi-purpose vessel ever undertaken by Huangpu Wenchong, marking another significant step forward for Huangpu Wenchong's multi-purpose/heavy-lift vessel types in the international market.

4 vessels, 1.7 billion yuan! Turkey's largest container ship owner orders 4,300 TEU container ships

Meanwhile, Arkas, Turkey's largest container ship owner, has ordered four 4,300 TEU new-generation environmentally friendly container ships from Huangpu Wenchong, bringing the total number of container ships in its fleet to 53. These new vessels are scheduled for delivery in February, April, June, and August 2028 and will be operated by Arkas Line.

Arkas said that the order is worth US$240 million (approximately 1.736 billion yuan), equivalent to US$60 million per vessel. As a new generation of environmentally friendly vessels, the new vessels will reduce carbon emissions through their fuel performance measurement system and increased capacity, supporting Arkas' sustainable development strategy.

These are the largest container ships in the Arkas fleet and the company's first new ship order in the past eight years. It is understood that the Arkas fleet currently consists of 49 container ships with capacities ranging from 1,022 TEU to 2,837 TEU. These container ships were built and delivered between 1997 and 2017, with an average age of 18 years.

Arkas Line provides services weekly in the Mediterranean, Black Sea, West Africa, North Africa, and Northern Europe. The company recently announced that it will expand its network, joining forces with Turkish company Turkon Line and German Hapag-Lloyd to launch a new transatlantic route to the US East Coast.

For Huangpu Wenchong, Arkas' latest order marks the second order for medium-sized container ships received in just over two months since the shipyard won a contract for four 4,300 TEU container ships from Thailand's Regional Container Lines (RCL) at the end of January this year, marking its first foray into the medium-sized container ship market.

It is understood that the 4,300 TEU container ship is the largest container ship built by Huangpu Wenchong. Clarkson's data shows that most of the container ships previously built by Huangpu Wenchong were 3,000 TEU or less, the largest being the two 3,421 TEU container ships "GSL Alice" and "BFAD Southern" delivered in 2014, until the RCL order was received at the beginning of this year.

Huangpu Wenchong is a key shipbuilding enterprise under China Shipbuilding Group and the largest shipbuilding unit in South China. It has extensive experience in shipbuilding and repair, and its product quality is recognized by shipowners worldwide. Feeder container ships, cargo ships, dredgers, ocean engineering vessels, and research vessels are representative products of the company's civilian product construction sector.

Huangpu Wenchong is a leader in the construction of feeder container ships and is known in the industry as China's best feeder ship yard. According to Clarkson's data, Huangpu Wenchong currently holds a total of 31 orders in the 100-2999 TEU feeder ship segment, second only to South Korea's HD Hyundai Mipo (41 vessels), ranking first in China and second globally; in the 3000-5999 TEU medium-sized ship segment, Huangpu Wenchong holds a total of 14 orders, ranking first globally.

Currently, Huangpu Wenchong has formed mass production lines for feeder container vessels with specifications of 1100 TEU, 1500 TEU, 1900 TEU, 2700 TEU, 3000 TEU, and 3400 TEU. Based on its construction experience, the independently designed "Hong Hu" series feeder container vessels (1900 TEU and 3000 TEU) have been well-received in the market, solidifying the company's brand in container vessels.

Excluding the latest order of 8 vessels, Clarksons' data shows that Huangpu Wenchong currently has a total backlog of 84 vessels with 3,056,900 DWT. This includes 45 container vessels, 14 bulk carriers, 12 multipurpose vessels, 7 tugboats, 3 LPG carriers, and 3 other types of vessels. Delivery dates extend to 2027.