China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) has made a comeback in the Very Large Ore Carrier (VLOC) newbuilding market after an 11-year hiatus.
The company is set to sign a shipbuilding agreement with China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry for the construction of six new-generation, energy-saving and eco-friendly 343,000 dwt VLOCs, a key move to further expand and optimize its dry bulk fleet portfolio.
The total investment of the newbuilding project is capped at RMB 4.93 billion ($720 million), with a unit price of RMB 822 million per vessel. All six vessels are scheduled for phased delivery from 2029 to 2030.
This new order marks CMES’s first VLOC procurement in over a decade. The company’s previous VLOC newbuilding deal was sealed in 2015, covering ten 400,000 dwt VLOCs built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, Beihai Shipbuilding and China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu). All ten vessels were delivered between 2018 and 2019.
Since the beginning of 2026, CMES has kicked off a comprehensive fleet expansion strategy and steadily scaled up investment in new vessel construction to strengthen its market competitiveness.
In March, the company signed a contract for ten VLCCs with Dalian Shipbuilding Industry. In May, Sinotrans Container Lines, a subsidiary of CMES, placed the order for 12 container ships with China Merchants Shipbuilding.
Earlier in July, CMES approved another batch of newbuilding orders, including five Aframax oil tankers to be constructed by CSSC Dalian Shipbuilding, alongside four 1,800 teu container ships and one 210,000dwt Newcastlemax bulk carrier built by China Merchants Shipbuilding.
Boosted by the improving global tanker shipping market and steady development of the dry bulk shipping sector, CMES is poised to achieve robust profit growth. The company forecasts its net profit for the first half of 2026 will surge by 214% to 248% year on year.