Topic
China
Every Vessel Hunter story on China: 75 stories, from 21 August 2026 to 9 October 2026. Newest: "Dubai Tower sails home via Suez after Sea Legend's first Arctic run of 2026". Each story links to the ships and ports it names, so a name in the text opens the record behind it.
Dubai Tower sails home via Suez after Sea Legend's first Arctic run of 2026
Sea Legend Shipping's 1,740 TEU Dubai Tower transited the Suez Canal southbound on 5 October, closing a loop that took her to Europe through Arctic waters.
Malaysia says it cannot police shadow fleet transfers as Iranian oil offshore runs low
Malaysia's transport minister says ship-to-ship transfers beyond port limits are outside its reach, as Iran's floating crude off Malaysia falls to about 10 million barrels.
Uni-Tankers takes eight 7,600 dwt stainless steel chemical tankers from Haidong
Danish operator Uni-Tankers has signed for eight 7,600 dwt stainless steel chemical tankers to be built at China's state-owned Haidong Shipyard and taken on time charter from 2028.
Erasmus Shipinvest orders two more 1,900 TEU feeders at Huangpu Wenchong
Erasmus Shipinvest has ordered another pair of 1,900 TEU containerships at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong, taking its firm programme at the Guangzhou yard to eight ships plus six options.
Contships signs for up to 30 feeder containerships at Hubei Guangji
Greek feeder owner Contships Logistics has signed a letter of intent with Hubei Guangji for ten firm 1,300 TEU containerships and options for twenty more.
COSCO Guangdong turns supramax Pu Tuo Hai into 2,528 TEU boxship Singapore River
COSCO (Guangdong) Shipyard has converted the 2007-built supramax Pu Tuo Hai into the 2,528 TEU containership Singapore River, chartered to X-Press Feeders, with a sister conversion under way.
CMES signs $2.8bn, 25-year Simandou contract for six VLOCs
China Merchants Energy Shipping's dry bulk arm Hong Kong Ming Wah has signed a 25-year agreement worth at least $2.8bn to carry Simandou iron ore on six very large ore carriers.
Yangzijiang Maritime orders 24 ships with options on 16 more
Yangzijiang Maritime Development has ordered 24 newbuildings at several Chinese yards and taken options on 16 more, lifting its portfolio to 98 vessels including options.
Chinese yards take 82% of new orders as crude routes lengthen
Chinese shipbuilders booked 121.06m dwt of new orders in the first half of 2026, 82.3% of the world total, as owners ordered large tankers for the longer crude voyages the Hormuz closure created.
Transpetrol enters the LR1 segment with two Yangzijiang newbuildings
Transpetrol has ordered two 75,000 dwt LR1 product tankers at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding for delivery in the first and second quarters of 2030, adding a new size class to its fleet.
Vale Charters Eight Tri-Fuel Newcastlemaxes From HMM in $3.5bn, 25-Year Deal
HMM has finalised an order for eight 210,000 dwt tri-fuel Newcastlemaxes at Yangzijiang, each chartered to Vale for 25 years under a KRW 4.7tn transportation agreement effective from 2030.
VLCC Freight Adds $26 a Barrel and Starts to Shrink US Gulf-Asia Crude
The Middle East Gulf-China VLCC benchmark reached $1.2125m a day on 17 September, ten times its pre-conflict level, and freight now adds roughly $26 to every barrel moved from the US Gulf to Asia.
Maersk Overtakes COSCO to Lead the Intra-Asia Container Trade
Maersk has passed COSCO as the largest operator in the intra-Asia container trade with more than 340,000 teu deployed, adding around 34,000 teu year-on-year.
Dynacom Returns to Hengli With Eight More Ships Worth Close to $1bn
George Procopiou's Dynacom has ordered eight more vessels at Hengli Heavy Industries in a package worth close to $1bn, taking its VLCC count at the yard to twenty.
Shenghang Yongle Takes the First Class Certificate for Ammonia Bunkering
A Chinese semi-refrigerated gas carrier has become the first operational vessel classed for ship-to-ship liquid ammonia bunkering, though no commercial transfer has yet been made.
Guangzhou Bunkers Green Methanol to a Bulker for the First Time
Guangzhou has completed its first ship-to-ship methanol bunkering, supplying 1,021 tonnes of certified green methanol to the dual-fuel Ultramax bulk carrier Green Future.
Dubai Tower Reaches Teesport on the Arctic Route From China
The containership Dubai Tower has arrived at Teesport after sailing from Ningbo through the Arctic, the first of eight Northern Sea Route crossings planned this season.
Rosatom and NewNew Advance Five Arc7 Boxships for Arctic Run
Rosatom and NewNew Shipping are advancing five Arc7 ice-class container ships for year-round Northern Sea Route service, with Murmansk under consideration as home port.
Fire on Bulker Ocean Melody at Qingdao Yard Kills 25 Workers
Twenty-five workers died in a fire aboard the bulk carrier Ocean Melody during repairs at Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding, one of China's worst recent industrial accidents.
Dajin books 24 newbuildings and builds a heavy transport fleet of its own
Dajin Heavy Industry reports 24 newbuildings worth about RMB 12 billion for delivery to 2030, alongside its own KING and EMPEROR series heavy transport ships.
COSCO Shipping Holdings' First-Half Profit Falls 34% on Thinner Box Margins
COSCO Shipping Holdings carried 8% more boxes in the first half of 2026 and earned a third less doing it, as operating profit per TEU fell about 30% to $139 and the margin narrowed to 12.5%.
SAL Signs MoU With Wuhu Shipyard to Double Its Orca Fleet to Ten
SAL Heavy Lift has signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Wuhu Shipyard for five more 14,600 dwt Orca-class heavy-lift vessels, which would double the programme to ten ships.
Fujian Highton Seeks $295m Placement to Fund a 16-Ship Buying Programme
Fujian Highton Development is raising up to RMB2bn to fund 16 bulkers and multipurpose heavylift ships over three years, with the whole placement earmarked for vessel purchases.
Xi and Sisi Agree a Third Phase for the Chinese Zone Beside the Suez Canal
Egypt and China agreed on 2 September to expand Chinese investment in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, deepening Beijing's position beside the waterway as the Hormuz conflict continues.
CSSC Net Profit Rises 163% as Its Order Backlog Reaches 729 Ships
China State Shipbuilding Corporation recorded first-half revenue of RMB91.53bn and net profit of RMB9.95bn, on higher deliveries of high-end vessels and rising average prices.
COSCO Rejects Claims That Its Ships Carry Hidden Intelligence Equipment
COSCO Shipping has issued a statement firmly opposing allegations that its vessels carry concealed platforms to intercept military communications near coastlines.
China, Russia and Kazakhstan Weigh an Ob-Irtysh River Route to the Russian Arctic
A revived Ob-Irtysh corridor would let Chinese goods reach Russian Arctic ports at the base of the Yamal Peninsula, but ice, drought and hydropower locks stand between the plan and the cargo.
China Took 57.8% of Global LNG Carrier Orders in the First Half of 2026
Chinese builders captured 57.8% of the 90 LNG carrier orders placed worldwide in the first half of 2026, widening a gap that stood at 15 ships to 13 in the same period last year.
Russia Puts a $116bn Price Tag on Its Trans-Arctic Transport Corridor
The RUB10trn programme covers ports, rail, inland waterways, an expanded nuclear icebreaker fleet and a much larger ice-class merchant fleet, split evenly either side of 2030.
Urals Crude Returns to VLCCs for Asia as Freight Costs Climb
Reduced Hormuz traffic and eased Venezuela measures have freed up part of the shadow VLCC fleet, opening the trade again.
COSCO Orders 18 More Boxships as 2026 Newbuilding Spend Reaches $8bn
COSCO Shipping Holdings has committed to another 18 containerships worth RMB20.27bn, taking its 2026 boxship orders to 48 vessels and around 676,800 teu of nominal capacity.
CSSC Chengxi hands over Palanca Tokyo, completing asphalt carrier series
CSSC Chengxi Shipyard has delivered the 17,000 dwt asphalt carrier Palanca Tokyo to Kumiai Senpaku, completing a three-vessel series for the Japanese owner.
Ningbo-Zhoushan Overtakes Singapore as Second Busiest Box Port
Ningbo-Zhoushan has edged past Singapore to become the world's second busiest container port, growing at nearly twice the Singaporean rate in the first half.
Arctic LNG 2 Fleet Grows to 18 Carriers as China Shipments Climb
Novatek and its partners now run a fleet of at least 18 gas carriers serving the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project, with 31 shipments delivered to China this year.
More Than 200 Chinese Vessels Mass Near Philippine-Held Shoal
More than 200 Chinese vessels have gathered around Mischief Reef in the South China Sea, raising concerns over pressure on the Philippine-controlled Second Thomas Shoal 25 miles away.
US Treasury Sets Cure Period Before Iran Banking Sanctions
Washington has signalled secondary sanctions on foreign banks working with five Iranian sectors including shipping, but is allowing a cure period for self-correction.
China's Sea Legend Launches Regular Container Service Through the Arctic
Chinese line Sea Legend has launched a regular Arctic container service to Europe after a 2025 trial crossing took 20 days from Ningbo-Zhoushan to Felixstowe.
Washington Readies New Iran Sanctions and Presses China Over Hormuz
Scott Bessent has promised the toughest sanctions in history against Iran and called on China, which took over 80% of Iran's shipped oil in 2025, to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
First Chinese Container Ship Reaches Murmansk via Northern Sea Route
Murmansk has received the Xin Xin Hai 1, the first Chinese-operated container ship to arrive by the Northern Sea Route and the port's first container imports through the Arctic passage.
Typhoon Leaves Multi-Day Queues At Shanghai And Ningbo
Typhoon Dolphin has left multi-day vessel queues at Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan after temporary port shutdowns disrupted schedules across the region.
Firefighter Killed By Explosion At Chinese Shipyard Blaze
One fire and rescue worker has died and twelve people were injured after an explosion at a shipyard in the south-eastern Chinese province of Fujian.
Turkish Newcomer Orders Twelve Ultramax Bulkers At Two Chinese Yards
Aqmaris Gemi, a Turkish shipowner established only last year, has ordered twelve Ultramax bulk carriers from two Chinese shipyards, with deliveries expected between 2028 and 2029.
China Sends Its Forty-Ninth Escort Fleet To The Gulf Of Aden
China will deploy its forty-ninth naval escort fleet to the Gulf of Aden and waters off Somalia in the second half of August, relieving the task group that departed for the mission the previous October.
Chinese Lessor Orders Four Very Large Crude Carriers
A Chinese financial leasing company has ordered four very large crude carriers at a domestic yard in a deal worth around five hundred million dollars, with each vessel of about 319,000 deadweight tonnes priced near 125 million dollars.
Chinese Yard Delivers Second Bulk Carrier In Sixty-Four Thousand Tonne Series
A Chinese shipyard has delivered the second vessel in a series of 64,000 deadweight tonne bulk carriers to a state-owned domestic owner, following the first ship of the series a month earlier.
Bunkering Resumes At Chinese Anchorages After Typhoon Shutdown
Bunker deliveries have restarted at two inner anchorages serving one of the world's largest marine fuel ports in eastern China, following a six-day suspension caused by a typhoon, while two outer anchorages remain closed.
Chinese Foreign Trade Grows Sharply In First Seven Months
China's goods trade reached 30.13 trillion yuan in the first seven months of 2026, up 17.3 percent, with imports growing considerably faster than exports.
Greek Owner Returns To Newbuilding Market After Fifteen Years
A Greek tanker owner has returned to the newbuilding market after fifteen years with a 113,500 deadweight tonne crude and product tanker due for delivery in September.
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