Despite Outbreak, Yangzijiang Secures $1.15B Container Ship Order

Despite the disruption and uncertainty caused by the novel coronavirus outbreak, Chinese conglomerate Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has secured a giant $1.15 billion order for up to ten dual-fuel containerships with a capacity of 14,000 TEU each. The firm order is for two vessels, with eight more available as options at $115 million per hull. 

Hong Kong-based Tiger Group, a longtime player in the container shipowning business, placed the order and will receive the first ship in the series in 2022.

“We appreciate our customer Tiger Group’s trust and support with such a sizable order with Yangzijiang at a challenging time for both the industry and the world as it tackles the coronavirus outbreak,” said Yangzijiang CEO Ren Letian. “These orders showed the customer’s deep trust . . . [and] mark an encouraging start for Yangzijiang for 2020 amid the coronavirus outbreak, which now has been labeled a pandemic; we will prepare for the worst but hope for the best.”

The orders will allow Yangzijiang to keep its yards busy and maintain a steady revenue stream through 2022, if not longer, the company said. If all options are exercised, it will be one of the firm's largest orders ever. 

Privately-held Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding is a conglomerate with multiple yards along the Yangtze, and it is the largest and most prominent non-government Chinese shipbuilder.