Zhejiang Seaport Shipping Company has added to its string of newbuilding orders, with an order of four 1,000TEU feeder ships from the Singapore-listed Chinese ship builder Yangzijiang Shipbuilding.
The US$54.9 million order was confirmed on 29 May 2020, just two months after Zhejiang Seaport Group ordered four 1,868TEU ships for an aggregate price of US$102 million from Yangfan Group, another Chinese ship builder.
The ships are likely to be operated by its subsidiary, Ningbo Ocean Shipping Company (NBOSCO), an established Chinese feeder operator.
Yangzijiang said the vessels will be built by one of its subsidiary yards, Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding, for delivery before June 2022. The yard said the vessel designs will take into consideration draught and other conditions in several major ports in Zhejiang Province, and with a maximum loading capacity of 15,000 tonnes, there is lower fuel consumption per unit.
The Yangfan orders are scheduled for delivery between September 2021 and March 2022.
All the ships ordered have been designed by the Ship Design & Research Institute in Shanghai (SDARI), a China State Shipbuilding Corporation subsidiary.
Alphaliner ranks NBOSCO as the world’s 34th largest liner operator, with a current capacity of 35,588TEU, comprised of 29 owned and 15 chartered ships.
NBOSCO commenced operations in 1992 with a weekly service to Japan from Ningbo, one of four natural deepwater ports in China, , as the country’s economy boomed.
Yangzijiang, which experienced a steep decline in newbuilding orders due to Covid-19, said that Zhejiang Seaport’s order is a welcome respite. Management said that the Zhejiang order is the yard’s first from the Zhejiang Seaport Group, which also manages Ningbo-Zhoushan port, China’s second-busiest container port after Shanghai.
By Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
