COSCO Shipping Holdings (COSCO) has ordered 10 container ships, six 14,092 TEU and four 16,180 TEU, for approximately $1.5 billion as part of a drive to increase efficiency and cut transportation costs, according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE).
The new vessels will increase COSCO’s TEU capacity by 150,000 TEU and will be built by the carrier’s shipyard operation; they are due to be delivered between December 2023 and December 2025.
Each of the six 14,092 TEU vessels will cost approximately $146 million for a combined amount of $876 million. The four 16,180 TEU ships will cost $155 million – $620 million in total.
The order, according to the filing with the HKSE, is part of COSCO’s 14th Five Year Plan, designed to help it maintain its place as a leading container shipping line and provider of logistics solutions.
“The Shipbuilding Transaction can also increase the competitive advantage of the Group and compel the Group’s expansion of new markets. In addition, the Shipbuilding Transaction can lower the cost of the transportation network and increase the core competitiveness of the Group,” it said.
“The Directors consider that the terms of the Shipbuilding Contracts are fair and reasonable, and the Shipbuilding Transaction is on normal commercial terms and in the ordinary and usual course of business of the Group, and in the interests of the Company and the Shareholders as a whole.”
