SITC International Holdings, the Chinese container shipping company operating within Asia, is continuing its plans to renew and expand its fleet, having returned to the Huanghai Shipbuilding shipyard to build two new vessels with a capacity of 2,700 standard containers.
According to a statement issued by the company, the company will pay approximately US$76.5 million for the two ships.
They are scheduled for delivery between January and March 2029, and with this latest order, the number of new SITC vessels in the Shandong shipyard rises to eight vessels with a capacity of 2,700 standard containers.
The original contract for four vessels, worth approximately US$153 million, was announced in August of last year, and SITC Shipowning then exercised its options to purchase two additional vessels in October 2025 at the same price, to be followed now by this latest agreement.
SITC has been an active customer of the Huanghai Shipyard in recent years. In 2024, the company booked ten 1,800 TEU vessels at the shipyard, to be delivered between 2026 and 2028. The price of each vessel in this series was approximately US$29 million.
According to data from Alphaliner, a specialist in maritime shipping research, SITC ranks fourteenth among global container shipping companies, with a fleet capacity of approximately 186,000 TEUs distributed across 120 vessels, of which approximately 100 are wholly owned.
The company explained that the new vessels will support the expansion of its owned fleet and will help it meet increasing operational demand across its network within Asia.
In the same context, MISC, one of the most important shipping lines in liquefied natural gas carriers, signed a contract to build six new carriers of this type at the Chinese shipbuilding company Hudong-Zhonghua.
The deal includes three tankers with a capacity of 174,000 cubic meters, plus options for three more tankers. All tankers are to be chartered to the national oil company Petronas upon delivery.
Hudong-Zhonghua signed the contract in cooperation with China Shipbuilding Trading Company (CSTC), marking another notable order for liquefied natural gas carriers flowing into Chinese shipyards at the start of this year.
The first three tankers are currently being prepared, in addition to three other tankers, and the program is expected to reach a total of 10 tankers if all options are activated, according to the company statement.
MISC has evolved into a diversified shipping group with a strong presence in marine energy-related services throughout Southeast Asia and beyond.
Liquefied natural gas remains a key pillar of its fleet strategy, with the company owning more than 20 operational LNG carriers, excluding new vessels being built through individual structures and joint ventures.
The ships will be built according to Hudong-Zhonghua's fifth-generation Changheng design. The new vessels will feature a range of fuel-saving and emissions-reducing technologies, with the company stating that daily carbon emissions will be reduced by more than 10 tons and that energy efficiency levels will exceed current international standards.
The design utilizes GTT’s NO96 Super+ containment system, which aims to achieve low evaporation rates and strong charging performance.
Hudong-Zhonghua confirmed that the balance between cargo capacity, fuel consumption and operational reliability has made the Changheng series a popular choice for LNG carrier owners.
With the addition of MISC’s order to the company’s records, Hudong-Chonghua now has more than 48 LNG carriers of this class on order, a record for vessels of this size and type.
This contract also underscores the strong start Chinese shipbuilders have made in the LNG sector through 2026, alongside South Korean shipyards. This is the fourth LNG carrier order secured by domestic shipyards this year, bringing the total number of confirmed orders to 13 vessels, plus five options.
Earlier in January, Jiangnan Shipbuilding Co. booked two 175,000 cubic meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers for Singapore's Eastern Pacific Shipping, marking the first LNG order of the year for Chinese shipyards.
This was followed by Hudong-Zhonghua's signing of a deal for four LNG carriers with Greek company TMS Cardiff Gas, with two options. Just days before MISC's announcement, Jiangnan also confirmed an order for four LNG carriers for Minsheng Financial Leasing, with the vessels to be long-term chartered to Shell and commercially managed by Shandong Offshore Energy.
