On November 9, the board of directors of COSCO Shipping Energy (600026) passed the "Proposal on Investing in the Construction of 10 New VLCC Crude Oil Tankers" and simultaneously implemented the long-term light leasing plan: Hainan Hainan Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary, signed 6 construction contracts with Yangzhou COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry and 4 VLCC construction contracts with Dalian Shipbuilding Industry, with a single ship price of 948 million yuan (tax included) and a total contract value of 9.482 billion yuan. The total investment including interest during the construction period and supervision fees is approximately 9.572 billion yuan; 6 ships are planned to be delivered from August 2029 to November 2030, and 4 ships are planned to be delivered from September 2029 to May 2030, all using LNG fuel READY or LNG/methanol dual fuel READY power and equipped with energy-saving and intelligent systems. Another subsidiary, Universal Shipping, operates from Bank of Communications, ICBC, ABC, Bank of China, CITIC and Minsheng Financial Leasing have leased 14 new VLCC ships (10 LNG dual-fuel, 4 conventional power), the lease period does not exceed 20 years, and the total rent does not exceed 17.4 billion yuan. Among them, 6 Yangzhou-built (related transactions) and 14 bare-lease must be submitted to the shareholders' meeting for review; the cumulative amount of the 4 Dalian-built ships does not exceed 50% of the audited net assets, and does not need to be submitted to the shareholders' meeting. The company increased its cash investment in Hainan Hainan Energy by RMB 1.896 billion.
"Aida·Huacheng" was officially delivered in Shanghai on November 6 (Source: Xinhua News Agency). It was built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of CSSC. It has a total length of 341 meters, a total tonnage of 141.9 thousand tons, and has 2,130 guest rooms and suites. It can accommodate 5,232 guests when fully loaded. The ship is the sister ship of the first domestically produced large-scale cruise ship "Aida·Modu". Its delivery means that domestically produced large-scale cruise ship innovative engineering projects have moved from single-ship development to serial construction. The project has formed an industrial ecology of "one final assembly company taking the lead, 100 general contractors linking, and 1,500 supporting facilities cooperating", promoting the localization of bulk materials and multiple key engineering packages. According to the plan, the ship will arrive at the Guangzhou Nansha International Cruise Home Port on November 12, and the maiden voyage season will start from Guangzhou on November 22.
MSC-controlled Global Car Carriers (formerly Gram Car Carriers) updated its fleet record and added two 8,600-space car carriers at Zhoushan Changhong International Shipbuilding, scheduled to be completed in 2030. It also ordered two ships of the same type at China Merchants Weihai Shipyard, scheduled to be completed in 2031. All four ships are LNG dual fuel, and the contract price was not disclosed. After including this, the company has ordered 26 new ships. (22 ships with 8,600 parking spaces, 4 ships with 7,000 parking spaces), with a total nominal capacity of 217,200 parking spaces. MSC acquired Oslo-listed Gram Car Carriers for approximately US$700 million in 2024 and privatized it. The company changed its name this year.
ADNOC Drilling signed two award letters for high-specification jack-up drilling platform leases with Kuwait Petroleum Company (KOC, a subsidiary of Kuwait National Petroleum Company KPC), with a total maximum amount of 96.554 million Kuwaiti dinars (approximately 313.6 million US dollars), making it the first time to operate an offshore drilling platform outside the United Arab Emirates. The contract includes a 4-year firm term (including mobilization) plus a 1-year option, and operations are expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2027. The company said that this contract award is the implementation of its "drilling and production integration" regional expansion strategy, and it will copy its offshore operation experience to the Kuwait market.
The Ministry of Transport stated on November 10 that with the approval of the State Council, three countermeasures against the United States have been suspended until January 10, 2027: special port fees levied on U.S.-related ships, related collection methods, and an investigation into the interests of safe development of the shipping and shipbuilding industry chain. The three measures have been implemented since October last year, and the special port fees are levied at 400 yuan per net ton and increased year by year, and then suspended for one year. It will be implemented simultaneously with the corresponding suspension of shipping measures by the United States. This round of extension will extend the mutual suspension between the two sides for another two months. The decision stated that the purpose is to implement the results of the eighth round of China-US economic and trade consultations.
The State Administration of Financial Supervision, the Ministry of Transport, the National Development and Reform Commission and other seven departments recently jointly issued this guidance, proposing five measures: improving the ship life cycle risk management system, improving the cargo transportation risk protection mechanism to expand the supply of protection; formulating standard clauses for shipping insurance, expanding the use of RMB, and enhancing independent pricing capabilities; improving the quality and efficiency of claims, encouraging risk reduction, and strengthening the global service network; standardizing product management and brokerage behavior, consolidating corporate risk prevention and control main responsibilities; optimizing business support mechanisms. Rectify irrational competition and improve talent training. The clear goal of the document is to improve shipping insurance underwriting capabilities and global service levels.
IMO released two developments on November 9. First, Philippine maritime officials and the industry completed capacity building for biofouling management, focusing on hull monitoring, inspections, maintenance plans and reporting, to mitigate the impact of alien species invasion on marine ecology. Second, a new study assesses the potential of Jamaica to develop into a low/zero carbon marine fuel regional bunkering hub. Both works are related to the mandatory discussion of biofouling and the layout of alternative fuel supply that IMO is advancing, The latter is the basis on which shipowners judge the availability of replenishment.
Mitsui E&S announced on November 10 that it had received an order for six MITSUI-Everllence B&W 6S50ME-C9.7-GI-EGRBP dual-fuel main engines from Swan Defense and Heavy Industries (SDHI, located in Gujarat) in India, which will be used in the 18,000-dwt chemical tankers built by the plant. The company said this is the first time it has received an order for main engines from an Indian shipyard. India is improving the competitiveness of its shipbuilding industry in a government-led manner. This order is a signal for Japanese marine equipment manufacturers to enter the Indian shipbuilding supporting chain.