With breakthroughs in the field of green ships, the fourth largest shipyard in Japan with a century of history, Changshi Shipbuilding Group, is re emerging. While the number of orders has increased significantly, it is also planning to carry out a fifth round of expansion for overseas shipyards.

In the just concluded year 2023, Changshi Shipbuilding Group undertook a total of 62 new ship orders, a significant increase from 35 in 2022 and far exceeding the annual target of 40 orders set at the beginning of the year. In addition to these 62 orders, Changshi Shipbuilding Group has also secured up to 24 alternative ship orders.

These new ships will be built at Japan's Changshi Shipbuilding, Zhoushan Changshi Shipbuilding, and Changshi Shipbuilding's Cebu Shipyard in the Philippines. With the increase in order volume last year, the group has basically ensured the workload of handheld orders until the end of 2027.

Last year, Changshi Shipbuilding Group undertook new orders mainly for its flagship product - the 82000 deadweight ton Kamsarmax bulk carrier. In addition to traditional fuel Kamsarmax ships, there were also 20 methanol dual fuel ships.

Changshi Shipbuilding's products are centered around 30000 to 180000 ton bulk carriers. The Kamsarmax type bulk carrier is the core product of Changshi Shipbuilding, and Changshi Shipbuilding was also the first shipbuilding enterprise to develop Kamsarmax type ships. In the 82000 deadweight ton Kamsarmax type bulk carrier market share, it ranks first in the world.

Last January, commodity trading giant Cargill and Japanese trading company Mitsui Industries ordered two Kamsarmax 82000 ton deadweight ton bulk carriers from Changshi Shipbuilding, marking the first methanol powered ship order in the field of bulk carriers. The new ship is scheduled to be delivered and put into operation in the first quarter of 2026, and will sign a long-term lease agreement with Mitsui Property.

This order is the first time that Changshi Shipbuilding has built a dual fuel bulk carrier. Starting with Cargill's orders, Changshi Shipbuilding has taken on a total of 27 orders for three types of methanol dual fuel ships, including 20 Kamsarmax ships, 3 82000 deadweight ton Kamsarmax ships, 2 66000 deadweight ton Ultramax bulk carriers, and 4 5900 TEU container ships.

It is worth mentioning that in October last year, Changshi Shipbuilding won the first order for four 5900TEU methanol dual fuel container ships, breaking the group's container ship construction record. So far, the main container ships built by Changshi Shipbuilding have been 1091-2806TEU feeder ships.

According to Changshi Shipbuilding, by adopting green methanol and new ship designs, methanol powered ships will be able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 15%. It is expected that by 2035, all ships built by Changshi Shipbuilding will be converted from traditional power ships to dual fuel ships.

In January of this year, Changshi Shipbuilding achieved another milestone - the first LPG ship was officially completed and delivered. This new ship has a total length of about 99 meters, a width of 17.6 meters, a depth of 8 meters, and a cargo hold capacity of 5000 cubic meters. The LPG liquid cargo tank carried by the ship is completely independently built by Changshi Shipbuilding.

At the same time, Changshi Shipbuilding is also promoting new energy and alternative fuels in the coastal shipping industry. At present, Changshi Shipbuilding is building an LNG and battery hybrid coastal limestone transport ship for Japanese shipowner NS United, with plans to deliver it in March this year. Changshi Shipbuilding is still building a hydrogen fuel hybrid tugboat.

According to sources related to Shipbuilding, the group is conducting comprehensive research on all potential new energy and alternative fuels for ships. In addition to the currently under construction methanol fuel, hydrogen fuel, etc., it also plans to study biofuels and nuclear energy propulsion, in order to quickly take action when demand increases in the future.

In addition to actively developing new types of ships, Changshi Shipbuilding Group has also decided to increase its shipbuilding capacity. It is reported that the group is ready to carry out the fifth round of expansion of its Cebu shipyard in the Philippines, including several major projects, such as a new wood granulation business and the construction of the world's first methanol dual fuel container ships.

In the past 29 years of history, Changshi Shipbuilding's Cebu Shipyard has undergone four rounds of expansion, from initially occupying 25 hectares to now occupying 170 hectares. The number of employees has also increased from 300 to now having 10000 direct and subcontracting workers.

It is understood that Changshi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (Changshi Shipbuilding) is a shipbuilding enterprise under Changshi Holdings Co., Ltd. (Changshi Holdings), established in 1917, with a history of 104 years. It is currently the fourth largest shipyard in Japan. In addition to the Changshi Shipyard in Japan, Changshi Shipbuilding began expanding outward in 1994, investing in and constructing overseas shipyards in Paraguay, Cebu, Philippines, and Zhoushan, China.

In 2021, Changshi Shipbuilding signed a share transfer agreement with Mitsui E&S Holdings, with a trading partner of 49% of Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding's commercial shipping business and some of its subsidiaries and affiliated enterprises, including subsidiaries Niigata Shipbuilding and Mitsui Yuliang Shipyard, as well as a joint venture shipyard with Yangtze River Shipbuilding Group, Yangtze Mitsui Shipbuilding.

In 2022, Changshi Shipbuilding completed the acquisition of an additional 17% stake in Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding, increasing its shareholding to 66%, becoming the parent company and largest shareholder of Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding. Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding and its subsidiaries Niigata Shipbuilding and Mitsui Yura Shipyard have also been merged as subsidiaries of Changshi Shipbuilding since October.

According to Clarkson's data, Changshi Shipbuilding Group currently holds a total of 133 orders of 9.01 million deadweight tons, including 119 bulk carriers, 8 container ships, 2 LPG ships, 2 tugboats, 1 limestone transport ship, and 1 fishing boat. The delivery date is scheduled for 2028.