COSCO eyes ammonia, methanol-ready carriers in billion-yuan vessel order

China’s COSCO Shipping Development, a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping, has ordered 10 ammonia- and methanol-ready bulk carriers.

IMAGE: Couple of COSCO's container ships docking at a port. COSCO

The “-ready” notation means the vessels will not be able to run on ammonia or methanol upon delivery but will be designed to allow future retrofitting for such propulsion.

Four of the ships will be built by Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding in China. The remaining six will be constructed by Zhoushan COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry.

The total value of the order exceeds RMB 5.2 billion ($722 million), according to COSCO Shipping Development.

Delivery timelines have not yet been disclosed, but the vessels will be leased on a long-term basis to COSCO Shipping Bulk or its subsidiaries.

By Konica Bhatt

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