Three Fortune Shipbuilding to receive order for four feeder container vessels from Greek shipowner

Following the initial order from a Danish shipowner at the beginning of the year, Taizhou Sanfu Shipbuilding is expected to receive another order for 4300TEU container ships from a Greek shipowner.

According to TradeWinds, Greek shipowner Chartworld Shipping is in talks with Sanfu Shipbuilding to build at least four 4300TEU medium-sized container ships. The new vessels will be equipped with traditional fuel and are expected to be delivered between the end of 2027 and 2028. The Price of each ship is approximately US\$60 million, with a total of US\$240 million (approximately RMB 1.744 billion) for four ships.

For reference, Clarksons' data shows that the newbuilding Price of a 3700/4500TEU container ship is currently around US\$61 million, an increase of about 6% compared to US\$57.5 million in the same period last year.

In addition to the order from Sanfu Shipbuilding, Chartworld recently signed a letter of intent with Hengli Heavy Industry for the construction of four 4300TEU container ships. This is the company's first order for container ships in four years, and it is said that these new ships will all be leased by CMA CGM of France.

It is understood that the last time Chartworld ordered container ships was in 2021, when the company ordered four 13000TEU container ships from New Times Shipbuilding. Two of these ships have been resold to Hapag-Lloyd of Germany, while the other two have entered into a long-term lease agreement with Hapag-Lloyd.

Currently, Chartworld is actively optimizing its fleet through newbuildings and second-hand vessels. Clarksons' data shows that Chartworld owns and operates 73 vessels, including 35 bulk carriers, 20 container ships, 11 tankers, and 7 reefer vessels. The company currently has six newbuildings under construction at Chinese shipyards, including two Ultramax bulk carriers under construction at New Ocean Shipbuilding and four MR product tankers under construction at New Yangtze Shipbuilding, which are expected to be delivered in 2026.

For Sanfu Shipbuilding, this will be its second order for 4300TEU container ships. In February this year, Sanfu Shipbuilding and Danish shipowner Navigare Capital signed a construction contract for 4+2 4300TEU container ships, setting a new record for its container ship construction. Prior to this, the largest container ships built by Sanfu Shipbuilding were a series of six 3716TEU vessels built for Seaboard Marine.

It is understood that Sanfu Shipbuilding has two high-tech shipbuilding bases, the Yong'an base and the Kou'an base, both located on the banks of the Yangtze River's Golden Waterway. Both bases are equipped with 10,000-ton ship outfitting berths, seven assembly docks, and hundreds of sets of lifting equipment, with a maximum lifting capacity of 900 tons. They can undertake the construction of various types of vessels up to 120,000 DWT, including container ships, multipurpose vessels, tankers/chemical tankers, bulk carriers, tugboats, offshore engineering vessels, and various barges.

Excluding the latest order, according to Clarksons' data, Sanfu Shipbuilding currently has a total order backlog of 60 vessels with 1.6661 million DWT, including 10 container ships, 13 bulk carriers, 34 multipurpose vessels, and 3 other vessels. Delivery arrangements extend to 2028.