Cosco (Cayman) Mercury Co., a subsidiary of Cosco Shipping Holdings, has placed an order for the building of ten containerships at a cost of US$1.5 billion with Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou).

The contract calls for the delivery of six 14,092 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containerships and four 16,180 TEU containerships between December 2023 and September 2024, and June 2025 and December 2025, respectively.

The shipbuilding transaction is in line with the 14th Five Year Plan of the group, supporting the group to maintain its first-tier position in the industry and transportation capacity, increase the competitive advantage of the group and compel the expansion of new markets, said Cosco Shipping Holdings.

Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry (Yangzhou), a Cosco Shipping Group subsidiary shipyard, built and delivered 40 vessels totaling roughly 6.33 million deadweight tonnage (dwt) between 2018 and 2020.