On January 9, 2020, Bocom Leasing Management HongKong Company Limited and SPDB Financial Leasing have ordered two 98,000 cum new buildings in total at China’s Jiangnan Shipyard Group Co., Ltd.

The vessels are said to be chartered out to UK-based chemical producer INEOS and Pacific Gas, the shipping unit of Shandong Marine Group Ltd. , which transport ethane from the USA to cracker plants in Europe.

The 99,000 m3 Type B Very Large Ethane Carrier (VLEC) is given the nickname “Bluebonnet” by Jiangnan Shipyard and it is one of the largest liquefied gas carriers in Houston waterway.

It is 230m in length, 36.6m in width and 22.5m in depth. Besides, it is equipped with four type-B liquid cargo tanks and two type-C deck tanks. With a dual-fuel main engine and a shaft generator, this vessel is economic in compliance with the strictest emission requirements.

On January 7, 2020, the first 22,000-m3 LEG carrier built by New Dayang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd and Nantong CIMC SinoPacific Offshore & Engineering Co., Ltd. for Hartmann Group was named and delivered in Yangzhou, Jiangsu, adding an advanced and environmental-friendly gas carrier with high added value in China.

The ship can meet the demands for carrying LEG (liquefied ethylene gas), such as ethylene, ethane, propylene, and methyl chloride and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), playing a pioneering role in the same type of vessels worldwide.

Furthermore, it has an overall length of 159.95m, a modeled width of 25.2m and a modeled depth of 17.35m. The design speed is 15 knots. And it has four type-C double-body liquid tanks as well as two type-C deck tanks, which can carry three different types of goods.

On January 3, 2020, the delivery ceremony of No.1 7,5000 DWT tanker built by Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited (GSI) for TORM was held in Guangzhou.

On October 18, 2019, Ms. Salvi, HR of TORM Mumba, gave the name “Torm Elise” to this tanker.

It is an environmental-friendly vessel with open-loop scrubbers, meeting the latest regulations of IMO 2020. It is 228.4m in length, 38m in width and 18.3m in depth and 11m in design draft. Furthermore, the deadweight and capacity of the self-developed LRI tanker are increased by 1.6 times in the same depth, draft and fuel consumption compared with conventional ships.

Taiwanese line Evergreen has placed an order at South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) for the construction of four 1,800 TEU containerships.

The four vessels will adopt the Con-Green design, developed by HMD, MAN Energy Solutions and DNV GL to meet the IMO EEDI Phase 3 requirements.

The total value of the order is KRW110bn ($95m), and the delivery of the ships will start in 2021.

Alphaliner data shows Evergreen currently owns a fleet of 109 ships with a total capacity of 566,051 TEU, while the company has a massive order of 69 ships with a total capacity of 557,002 TEU.

On December 28, 2019, NO.44 110,000 DWT product tanker built by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd. for Maersk was launched successfully, meeting its annual production target.

This ship is equipped with a double bottom and double hull, which is an energy-efficient and environmental-friendly oil tanker. It’s the first time for this type of ship to be designed with the structure of corrugated bulkhead and a separate pump of the cargo oil system.

On December 25, 2019, Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co., Ltd built the No.18 bulk cargo carrier which was launched successfully at building dock for Frontline. This 210,000 DWT vessel stayed here for 113 days, reaching a record high.

The length overall of the vessel is about 300m, the LPP is 294m, the width is 49m and the depth is 25.30m. Its design draft and scantling draft are 16.10m and 18.60m respectively. The service speed is about 14.2 knots and it can sail at a 22,000 nautical speed with a capacity of 210,000 DWT. Following the rules and regulations of ABS, it is sailing under the flag of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Navigation Brilliance, a Qingdao-based smart ship technology company, has placed an order at Yangfan Shipbuilding’s Qingdao Shipyard for the construction of a 300 TEU autonomous containership for a research and development project.

Construction of the ship will start in the first half of 2020 and delivery is scheduled in June 2021.

The company will test the ship, to be named Zhi Fei, for short sea operations following the delivery and it also has plans to build the larger 500 TEU and 800 TEU ships in the future.

The ship is jointly developed by Navigation Brilliance, China Waterborne Transport Research Institute, and Dalian Maritime University.

Earlier this year, Navigation Brilliance launched a small trial autonomous ship Zhi Teng to provide a test platform for its autonomous navigation technology.

This month, Zhuhai-based ship technology firm Yunzhou Tech completed a trial of an autonomous cargo ship “Jin Dou Yun 0 Hao”.

On December 18, 2019, the first Ro-Ro/train for the Rail Ferry Newbuild I LLC was constructed by CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding Company Limited at Longxue production area.

The construction contract for two train ferries was signed in October 2018. This type of vessel is designed for carrying trains by Shanghai Merchant Ship Design & Research Institute (SDARI). It has an overall length of 180m, a breadth of 36.6m and a depth of 10m. Train handling can be carried out on decks, including the main deck. Furthermore, it has customized routes between ports of the United States and Mexico.

The vessel is fitted with a diesel engine, ECO-EGR version in Tier III that is cost-effective and eco-friendly. This first rail ferry is scheduled to be delivered in 2021.

Chinese owner Seacon Shipping has entered into shipbuilding contracts with CSSC-affiliated Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding for the construction of up to eight 85,000 DWT neo-Panamax bulk carriers.

The contract is comprised of a firm order for four vessels and options for another four vessels.

Delivery of the vessels will start in 2021.

Qingdao-headquartered Seacon Shipping is the largest third-party ship management company in China. The company has a self-owned dry bulk fleet of over 40 vessels with a total capacity of over 2m DWT.

On December 12, 2019, 11,000DWT petrochemical ship constructed by Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding Ltd. was delivered smoothly to Ocean Tankers.

Poh Soon Ong, the vice president of Ocean Tankers and Huang Rutang, director of Mawei Shipbuilding, signed the delivery receipt.

The length overall of the ABS classed vessel is 139.98m, 20.2m in width and 11.2m in depth. The speed is 13 knots and it can carry 11,000DWT goods. Furthermore, it can meet the latest conventions and environmental regulations.