Recently, Hengli Heavy Industry has achieved another remarkable success, signing five bulk cargo ship construction contracts with major European shipowners, Eastern Mediterranean and Seanergy. These contracts include four Kamsarmax-type and one Capesize-type bulk cargo ships. The total contract amount exceeds 1.5 billion.
Both of these types of ships are the main construction types of Hengli Heavy Industry. On October 10th, Hengli Heavy Industry named and delivered two 181,000-ton Capesize-type and one 82,000-ton Kamsarmax-type bulk cargo ships for a German shipowner on the same day. Hengli Heavy Industry, with its advanced shipbuilding technology and rich construction experience, has transformed these ship types into popular products in the market.
Hengli Heavy Industry pointed out that the Kamsarmax-type is favored by global shipping customers due to its excellent cargo-carrying capacity and efficient operational efficiency; while the Capesize-type has become an important force in the international shipping market with its super-large carrying capacity and outstanding navigation performance. These main construction ship types are fully considered in the shipbuilding process to meet the actual needs of shipowners and market trends, ensuring the superiority of the ships in terms of performance, safety, and economy.
As a reference, according to Clarksons, the new construction price of a 180,000-ton to 182,000-ton Capesize-type bulk cargo ship is approximately 73 million US dollars (about 520 million yuan), a decrease of 5% compared to the same period last year; the new construction price of an 82,000-84,000-ton Kamsarmax-type bulk cargo ship is approximately 36.25 million US dollars (about 258 million yuan), a decrease of 3% compared to the same period last year.
Recently, Hengli Heavy Industry has successively received orders for new ships from domestic and foreign shipowners. From September to early October, Hengli Heavy Industry successively received 12 VLCC orders, including 6 ships ordered by Frontline which is the subsidiary of Norwegian shipowner John Fredriksen, 4 ships ordered by Greek shipowner George Procopiou's Dynacom Tankers, and 2 ships ordered by Greek shipowner Laskaridis Maritime.
Last week, Hengli Heavy Industry announced that it has signed a construction contract for one VLCC, two Capesize-type bulk cargo ships, and one 95,500-ton super Panamax-type bulk cargo ship with Greek shipowner Capital and domestic large shipping enterprise Shandong Marine corporation.
Hengli Heavy Industry pointed out that Europe, as an important part of the global shipping market, shipowners have extremely high requirements for the quality and performance of ships. In the past few months, Hengli Heavy Industry has signed dozens of new ship construction contracts with several well-known European shipowners, with a continuous stream of contracts and frequent good news. The successful signing of these ships not only demonstrates Hengli Heavy Industry's strength in shipbuilding, but also reflects its good reputation and brand image in the international market, and the market share in the European market is showing a steady upward trend.
This signing between Hengli Heavy Industry and the mainstream European shipowners is not only the beginning of the cooperation between the two parties, but also a vivid manifestation of Hengli Heavy Industry's continuous progress and innovation in the international shipping market. As Hengli Heavy Industry continuously expands in the European market, its market share is expected to further increase, laying a solid foundation for the company's long-term development. In the future, Hengli Heavy Industry will closely focus on the world-class goal, prioritize quality, and take quality as the soul, making greater contributions to the development of the global shipping industry.
It is understood that the predecessor of Hengli Heavy Industry, STX Dalian, was once the largest foreign-owned shipyard in China, with the largest single shipyard in northern China. In 2022, in response to the national call, Hengli Group established Hengli Heavy Industry Group and spent 2.11 billion yuan to bid and acquire the idle assets of former STX Dalian that had been unused for ten years. They are striving to build a world-class high-end shipbuilding base. In January 2023, the first phase of Hengli Heavy Industry, the "Ocean Factory", was fully operational within 150 days. In January this year, the second phase project, the "Future Factory", was put into production within five months. In September this year, the cooperation innovation and offshore engineering technology park of Hengli Heavy Industry started construction on Changxing Island in Dalian.
As of now, Hengli Heavy Industry has started the construction of over 60 ships, with approximately 170 ships on hand and production scheduled until 2029. After all the series of projects reach full production, it can achieve the construction of over 150 ultra-large ships per year, produce 180 marine engines, including G95 and below models, and cover all four types of dual-fuel sources, including LNG, LPG, methanol, and ammonia. It will become the largest single-shipyard and the most fully-equipped shipbuilding base in the world.