COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation has unveiled a fleet expansion covering 24 very large crude carriers, Splash247 reported on November 9. Its subsidiary Hainan Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation has ordered ten VLCCs for RMB9.48 billion (about $1.42 billion), six at Yangzhou COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry for delivery between August 2029 and November 2030 and four at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation for delivery between September 2029 and May 2030, at about RMB948 million per ship.
Alongside the orders, the board approved taking a further 14 VLCC newbuildings on bareboat charter from six Chinese financial leasing companies, including the leasing arms of Bank of Communications, ICBC and Agricultural Bank of China, with maximum rental commitments of RMB17.4 billion (about $2.61 billion) over charter periods of up to 20 years and all 14 ships expected to enter service during 2030. Ten of the chartered ships are LNG dual-fuel designs. The Yangzhou order is a related party transaction inside the COSCO group and the charter programme also requires shareholder approval, the report said.