British shipowner Zodiac Maritime has returned to the newbuilding market, placing an order for five 6000TEU container ships at China Merchants Industry Jinling Shipyard.
It is reported that these new vessels will use conventional fuel and are expected to be delivered successively around 2028. The cost per new ship is approximately between $78 million and $79 million, with the total transaction value ranging from $390 million to $395 million (approximately RMB 2.777 billion to RMB 2.812 billion).
For reference, data from Clarksons shows that the current newbuilding price for a 5000-5500TEU container ship is about $79 million, a slight decrease compared to $80 million during the same period last year.
Sources said that this series of ships will be built to high specifications and equipped with a shaft generator system. Zodiac Maritime is currently in discussions with several container shipping companies, including COSCO Shipping Group, to arrange charter contracts for these new vessels.
As a diversified shipping company, Zodiac Maritime’s fleet comprises over 160 vessels, including container ships, bulk carriers, car carriers, LPG carriers, and tankers. Over the past decade, the number of ships managed by Zodiac has doubled, and the fleet’s deadweight tonnage has tripled during this period.
This is a rare container ship order for Zodiac Maritime in recent years. It is understood that prior to the order at Jinling Shipyard, Zodiac Maritime had placed a series of orders for 13 LNG dual-fuel 15,600TEU container ships at South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean in 2021 and 2022. All these vessels are leased and operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).
For Jinling Shipyard, the Zodiac Maritime order will be the largest container ships it has ever built. Previously, the largest container ships built and delivered by the shipyard did not exceed 5000TEU. In mid-September, Jinling Shipyard received an order for a total of five 6000TEU container ships from Singaporean shipowner Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS).
Also in September, the Yizheng Ship Supporting Industrial Park, invested and developed by China Merchants Industry, was signed and commenced construction. The project has a total investment of approximately RMB 5 billion and a total planned land area of about 900 mu. Upon completion, China Merchants Industry Jinling Shipyard will be capable of building a full range of ro-ro ships, 6000TEU new energy-powered container ships, and liquid cargo ships up to 100,000 tons, achieving an annual output of nearly 20 ships and an annual output value of RMB 10 billion.
It is understood that China Merchants Industry Jinling Shipyard has two major production sites in Nanjing and Yizheng and is a core member of China Merchants Industry for ro-ro ship construction. In July this year, China Merchants Industry Jinling Shipyard returned to the container ship construction market by securing an order from EPS for a total of six 1800TEU container ships. It is reported that the last time Jinling Shipyard received a container ship order was in 2021, when Zhonggu Logistics ordered a total of eight 4636TEU container ships. These new ships were delivered successively between 2023 and 2024.
Including the latest order, data from Clarksons shows that, as of now, China Merchants Industry Nanjing Jinling holds a total orderbook of 80 vessels amounting to 2.58 million deadweight tons. This includes 31 car carriers, 18 container ships, 14 multi-purpose vessels, 9 bulk carriers, 6 chemical tankers, and 2 methanol bunkering vessels, with delivery schedules extending until 2028.
