Japanese shipowner Kasuga Kaiun has placed an order for the third time this year at a Chinese shipyard to build two 40500 deadweight ton bulk carriers for the Jiangmen Nanyang vessel, which will be delivered in June and July 2026.

This is the first time that Chunri Shipping has cooperated with Jiangmen Nanyang Shipbuilding for shipbuilding. According to Japanese media reports, Chunri Shipping chose the Jiangmen Nanyang ship this time because in the construction of flexible bulk carriers, Jiangmen Nanyang ships can provide earlier delivery times and competitive ship prices, and the ship specifications also meet the requirements.

The specific price of this order has not been disclosed. As a reference, Clarkson's data shows that the current price of a new flexible bulk carrier with a load capacity of 38000-42000 tons is approximately $30.5 million, an increase of 2% compared to $30 million in the same period last year.

Chunri Shipping is a representative Japanese medium-sized shipowner who has long chosen to book ships from Japanese shipyards. In recent years, with the improvement of ship quality delivered by Chinese shipyards, it has gradually attracted the attention of Japanese shipowners. In January of this year, Chunri Shipping signed a construction contract with New Ocean Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of Sumida Shipbuilding, for two Crown 63 PLUS bulk carriers. This order is of great significance for New Ocean Shipbuilding and marks the beginning of Sumida's entry into the Japanese shipbuilding market. In April, Chunri Shipping added a third ship of the same type to New Ocean Shipbuilding.

The 40500 deadweight ton small flexible bulk carrier ordered by Chunri Shipping is the main product of Jiangmen Nanyang Shipping. According to Clarkson's data, currently, Jiangmen Nanyang ships hold a total of 40 orders of 1.617 million deadweight tons. Except for 3 39500 deadweight tons, the remaining 37 are all 40500 deadweight tons bulk carriers.

Jiangmen Nanyang Shipbuilding has always focused on the development of bulk carriers with a load capacity of less than 100000 tons. In the past decade, Nanyang Shipbuilding has successively developed and launched 39000DWT green and environmentally friendly flexible bulk carriers, B-type 39000DWT green and environmentally friendly flexible bulk carriers, 39800DWT multifunctional bulk carriers, and 40000 DWT green and environmentally friendly large opening bulk carriers.

The small flexible bulk carrier of Jiangmen Nanyang Ship is technologically advanced and has excellent performance, becoming one of the international standard ship types and known as the "Nanyang Type" ship in the international market. Since its establishment, Nanyang Shipbuilding has delivered over a hundred small flexible bulk carriers, with the world's largest market share in modern energy-saving small flexible bulk carriers.