COSCO Guangdong turns supramax Pu Tuo Hai into 2,528 TEU boxship Singapore River
The 2007-built bulker lost her cranes and gained cell guides in three months; a sister follows for X-Press Feeders
COSCO (Guangdong) Shipyard has completed the first of at least two conversions turning supramax bulk carriers into containerships. The 53,000 dwt Pu Tuo Hai, a Diamond 53 bulker built in 2007, entered the Guangzhou yard on 10 June and left a little over three months later as the 2,528 TEU Singapore River, Alphaliner reports.
The work involved removing the ship's four cranes, raising the wheelhouse by two decks and fitting the cargo holds with cell guides, which allow containers to be stacked up to seven tiers high. Her draught was reduced from 12.6 metres to 12 metres, cutting deadweight from 53,000 to 48,000 tonnes. Length and beam are unchanged at 190 metres and 32.29 metres.
The original MAN B&W 6S50MC-C main engine was kept, giving a top speed of around 15.5 knots. That is slow for a containership, but Alphaliner judges it probably adequate for shorter regional trades.
The ship already has employment. She is chartered to X-Press Feeders and, after ballasting to Ningbo, is due to join a scheduled liner service in October.
A sister conversion is in progress. The Jiu Hua Hai, another Diamond 53 bulker, is at COSCO Guangdong and is expected to begin a charter with X-Press in late October or early November.
The project is not the only one of its kind in China this year. Zhoushan Xinya Shipyard rebuilt the 2012-built kamsarmax Guang Qi De Er Ta into a 3,607 TEU containership by turning her seven cargo holds into 13 container bays.
The overlap between the bulk and container segments runs in the other direction too. COSCO Shipping Bulk ordered three 210,000 dwt container-capable newcastlemaxes from CSSC Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding in January, with methanol- and ammonia-ready designs and the ability to carry boxes alongside bulk and general cargo. During the pandemic, containers moved on bulkers, and Star Bulk was among the first capesize owners to obtain class approval for container carriage.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 4 October 2026.
