3 ships! Korean shipowners place orders in China for the first time

Dongjin Shipping Co., Ltd. from South Korea has placed its first shipbuilding order with a Chinese shipyard, ordering three 1100TEU feeder container ships from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding.

It is reported that Dongjin Shipping's latest order is one of the 22 new ship orders disclosed by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding at the end of August. Each of these three new ships costs about 23 million USD, with a total order value of 69 million USD (approximately 492 million RMB). The new ships are planned to be delivered between 2027 and 2028.

For reference, Clarkson's data shows that the current newbuilding price for a 1000/1200TEU container ship is about 24.25 million USD, slightly down from 24.5 million USD in the same period last year.

This is Dongjin Shipping's first order signed with a Chinese shipyard; previously, the company had always chosen Korean shipyards for orders. It is understood that Dongjin Shipping last ordered a new ship in 2021, when it placed an order for one 1800TEU container ship at HD Hyundai Ulsan.

Dongjin Shipping Co., Ltd. was established in 1984 according to the Korean government's shipping industry rationalization plan. Through combined transportation of containers and bulk cargo, it provides route services between Korea, China, and Japan. According to its official website, the company owns and operates a fleet consisting of seven feeder container ships and two small general cargo ships.

At the end of August this year, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding announced that the company recently received orders for 22 new ships, with a total value of about 920 million USD (approximately 6.581 billion RMB). These include 18 container ships (4 of 1100TEU, 4 of 1800TEU, 6 of 2900TEU, 2 of 3000TEU, and 2 of 4300TEU), 2 LPG ships of 40,000 cubic meters, and 2 bulk carriers of 83,000 deadweight tons. These new ships will be delivered between 2027 and 2029.

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding did not disclose specific information about the shipowners, but it is understood that Greek shipowner Euroseas recently ordered 2 4300TEU container ships from Yangzijiang, Greek shipowner Minerva Marine ordered 2+2 1800TEU ships, Korean shipowner CK Line ordered 2+2 1100TEU ships, INTERASIA LINE ordered 6+2 2900TEU ships, and Japanese shipowner Lepta Shipping ordered 2 LPG ships of 40,000 cubic meters.

Including the latest 22 orders, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group has received a total of 36 orders this year, with a total amount of about 1.46 billion USD (approximately 10.443 billion RMB), achieving 24% of the annual order target of 6 billion USD.

As of June 30 this year, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding holds orders for 236 ships totaling 8.79 million CGT, valued at 23.2 billion USD (approximately 165.947 billion RMB), with delivery schedules extending to 2030. The order book includes a diverse ship type structure: 107 container ships valued at 15.97 billion USD, 39 bulk carriers valued at 1.63 billion USD, 26 liquefied gas ships (LEG/LPG/VLAC/VLEC) valued at 2.38 billion USD, and 64 oil tankers valued at 3.23 billion USD. Green clean energy ship types account for about 74% of the total order value.