Trio of owners emerge behind 13-ship Huangpu Wenchong boxship haul

The Guangzhou-based yard and CSSC Trading recently disclosed contracts covering 13 boxships of 5,000 teu and above, comprising three 5,300 teu ships, four 6,200 teu units and six 6,400 teu vessels. Multiple shipbroking and market sources have identified Chinese owner Jiangsu Ocean Shipping (JOSCO) as the buyer behind the trio of 5,300 teu newbuilds.      JOSCO, the shipping arm of Jiangsu Port Group, is already building six 1,900 teu feeder containerships at Huangpu Wenchong and has established itself as a regular customer of the yard.   The four 6,200 teu vessels have been linked to George Youroukos-led Global Ship Lease.

Earlier this month, the New York-listed Greek containership owner revealed a $917m investment in a series of mid-sized, ultra-high-reefer, wide-beam, latest-generation boxships without identifying either the shipyard or vessel size. Market sources suggest four of those ships are part of the latest Huangpu Wenchong order package.

Meanwhile, Splash understands that the largest portion of the deal, six 6,400 teu vessels, has been secured by German owner Peter Döhle.      The Hamburg-based company has been among the most active containership investors in recent years and remains a major customer of Chinese yards. Most recently, the company was linked to an order for up to four 3,100 teu containerships at CSSC-affiliated Chengxi Shipyard.

The latest contracts also further bolster Huangpu Wenchong’s position in the midsize containership segment.      According to yard figures, Huangpu Wenchong has now secured orders for 39 containerships of 5,000 teu and above. The 13 newly announced vessels form part of a particularly strong month for the builder, which has disclosed orders for 17 firm containerships in June alone, alongside options for two additional vessels. The remaining June orders comprise 1,900 teu feeder ships linked to Greece’s OceanV Maritime and a joint order involving Erasmus Shipinvest and CULines.