China COSCO Shipping Bulk has signed for 16 more 87,000 dwt multipurpose grain carriers at Fujian Shipbuilding, in an order estimated at around $800m and backed by three Chinese leasing houses. The contracting parties have not disclosed pricing or delivery dates, leaving the value as a market estimate rather than a confirmed figure.

The financing split shows how central lessors have become to Chinese tonnage expansion. ICBC Financial Leasing is behind 11 of the ships, Zheyin Financial Leasing takes three and Yongying Financial Leasing the remaining two. The agreement was signed during an event marking the 160th anniversary of Fujian Shipbuilding's origins, where the yard group also secured contracts for the main engines and generator sets for all 16 vessels.

For grain shippers and dry bulk operators, the order signals more purpose-built tonnage arriving on the water in the coming years, deepening a fleet renewal cycle that COSCO has driven almost single-handedly since mid-2025. For Fujian Shipbuilding, it cements a repeat customer at scale during a competitive newbuilding market.

How does this order fit COSCO's wider grain carrier push?

The Fujian contract extends a sequence of sizeable commitments in the segment:

• June 2025: COSCO Shipping Bulk and Fujian Shipbuilding teamed up with CITIC Financial Leasing for 15 firm and 15 optional 80,000 dwt multipurpose grain carriers, valued at about RMB360m ($50m) apiece. Those vessels were booked at Fujian's Mawei Shipbuilding and Xiamen Shipbuilding facilities, with deliveries scheduled for 2027 and 2028.
• July 2025: COSCO's listed leasing arm, COSCO Shipping Development, unveiled a separate RMB8.66bn ($1.27bn) order for 24 bulkers — twenty 87,000 dwt multipurpose grain carriers and four 210,000 dwt newcastlemaxes.
• Now: Another 16 vessels in the same 87,000 dwt capacity class, this time financed by a different group of Chinese leasing houses.

The July package split its grain carriers between COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry's Dalian yard, which secured 15 vessels, and CSSC Chengxi Shipbuilding, which landed five. All 24 vessels in that order were earmarked for 20-year leases to Huifeng, a COSCO Shipping Bulk subsidiary — a structure that keeps the tonnage inside the group for two decades.

What does it mean for the market?

Taken together, the June and July orders plus this latest batch amount to at least 55 firm grain-class vessels and bulkers contracted within months, worth more than $2bn combined by the disclosed and estimated figures. That scale of purpose-built grain capacity points to a strategic bet on long-haul grain trades, and it hands Chinese yards a sustained workload while other owners weigh ordering decisions.

Forwarders and charterers tracking the 87,000 dwt segment should expect incremental supply pressure from 2027 onward, when the first of the earlier Fujian-built vessels are scheduled to deliver. With delivery dates for the newest 16 ships undisclosed, the market will watch for slot confirmations as Fujian's Mawei and Xiamen facilities fill their order books into the next decade.

By Elena Vasquez