New and old ship owners place orders one after another! Huang Hai Shipbuilding receives two orders in a row

Huang Hai Shipbuilding has secured two significant orders, a first MR-type product oil tanker order with a domestic "long-term client", and a return order from an overseas ship owner. This double success further solidifies Huang Hai Shipbuilding's competitiveness in the global shipbuilding industry and ushers in a new chapter for its future development.

An "Old Friend" Returns! Huang Hai Shipbuilding Receives First MR-type Product Oil Tanker Order

On April 30, Huang Hai Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. signed a contract with a Hong Kong company under Xinlicheng Group for the construction of 2+2 50,000-deadweight-ton MR-type product oil tankers. Huang Hai Shipbuilding did not disclose the specific price and delivery time of the new vessels, but according to foreign media reports, the first two vessels will be delivered and put into operation by the end of 2026 and 2027.

For reference, according to Clarksons' data, the price of a new 47,000-51,000 deadweight ton traditional fuel MR-type product oil tanker is currently around US$49.5 million, a 9% increase compared to US$45.5 million in the same period last year.

The vessel has an overall length of 182.75 meters, a molded breadth of 32.20 meters, a design draft deadweight tonnage of 49,990 tons, 14 cargo oil tanks, independent cargo pipelines, and hydraulic submersible pumps, allowing for the simultaneous loading of 7 types of cargo. It meets Tier III emission requirements and the third phase of the Ship Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) standard.

It is understood that Xinlicheng Group, founded in 1994, has become the largest privately-owned comprehensive logistics shipping enterprise in North China, providing door-to-door comprehensive logistics services to customers. The group's business spans multiple aspects of the industry, including international sea transportation, fleet operation, ship management, terminal management, ship agency, freight agency, warehousing and distribution, supply chain management, logistics information technology, etc., covering the entire chain of shipping logistics, from upstream to downstream, from high-end to basic, forming a plate-like and chain-like operation of shipping.

Xinlicheng Group owns a leading domestic fleet. After years of cultivation in the shipping market, it has significant advantages on many international routes, including routes to the Americas, Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Persian Gulf, all of which have earned a good market reputation. It holds an absolute controlling advantage on the China-Korea bulk cargo route, transporting about 70% of China's steel exports to Korea annually, ranking first nationally for many years. The group's annual transportation volume currently reaches over 20 million tons.

This order marks Xinlicheng Group's first foray into MR-type product oil tankers. According to Clarksons' data, Xinlicheng Group currently operates 12 self-owned vessels, including 5 bulk carriers, 5 multipurpose vessels, and 2 general cargo vessels. The youngest vessel in its fleet was delivered in 2018.

Furthermore, for Huang Hai Shipbuilding, this is also its first MR-type product oil tanker order. Official website information shows that Huang Hai Shipbuilding's product range mainly consists of luxury passenger-roll-on/roll-off ferries, multipurpose and container ships, law enforcement vessels, ocean engineering vessels, and large deep-sea fishing vessels. According to Clarksons' data, Huang Hai Shipbuilding only delivered two small oil tankers decades ago.

Although both Huang Hai Shipbuilding and Xinlicheng Group are "new faces" in the MR-type product oil tanker market, the two companies have a long-term cooperative relationship. Clarksons' data shows that three of Xinlicheng Group's multipurpose vessels come from Huang Hai Shipbuilding: the 31,777-deadweight-ton Huanghai Struggler (built in 2014), the 28,154-deadweight-ton Huanghai Advance (built in 2012), and the 12,300-deadweight-ton Zea Servant (built in 2018).

"New Client" Places Order! Huang Hai Shipbuilding Returns to Open Hatch Vessel Market After a Decade

Athenian Shipping, a Greek shipping company, recently placed an order with Huang Hai Shipbuilding for 2+1 41,000-deadweight-ton open hatch vessels. Each new vessel is priced at approximately US$31 million, and the total transaction amount will reach US$93 million (approximately RMB 673 million) after the optional order is confirmed. The first two new vessels are scheduled for delivery before 2026.

This new order has attracted market attention because the ordering owner, Athenian Shipping, withdrew from the shipping market after selling the last two bulk carriers in its fleet in the summer of 2016 and has not operated any vessels since. This order is also Huang Hai Shipbuilding's first new vessel order in 8 years.

However, there are reports suggesting that the order did not come from Athenian Shipping, which had already exited the market, but from another company with the same name. Among the currently active Greek shipping companies, only Athenian Sea Carriers has a similar name, but the company's executives have denied any connection to the Huang Hai Shipbuilding order.

Market observers believe that considering the recent strong performance of the bulk carrier market, it is not surprising to see new companies or "veterans" returning to this segment. Dimitris Roumeliotis, a researcher at the Greek shipbroking company Xclusiv Shipbrokers, pointed out: "Many companies with only one bulk carrier, or even no bulk carriers at all, are trying to increase their fleet, either by building new ships or selectively acquiring used ships in the second-hand market."