U-Ming Commissions Four Dual Fuel Bulk Carriers for 10-Year Anglo American Dry Bulk Contract

TAIWAN – U-Ming Marine Transport Corporation, Taiwan’s largest publicly listed bulk carrier company, has been awarded a 10-year LNG Dual Fuel dry bulk charter contract by Anglo American, a leading global mining company.

To fulifil the contract, U-Ming has ordered four LNG Dual Fuel bulk carriers. The new vessels will weigh in at 190,000 DWT, with a length of about 299 metres and width 47.5metres. The ships will be built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) and are expected to be delivered throughout 2023.

The vessels will be powered by Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), which emits significantly lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than bunker fuels. The vessels will also be fitted with MAN Energy Solutions’ high-pressure ME-GI engines to further reduce their environmental footprint. U-Ming President Mr. C. K. Ong said:

“U-Ming is committed to make the world a better place for our future generations. To achieve that, we are building a greener fleet using LNG, and to reduce GHG emissions and fuel consumption by improving vessel design and optimising fuel efficiency.”

The outbreak of the global pandemic impacted badly on sea transport demand, particular bulk loads. With a sharp decrease in Chinese steel production, power and coal consumptions in the first half of the year, the average Baltic Dry Index (BDI) had decreased 23% to only 685 points, from 895 points in the same period of 2019.

However, the bulk market has gradually recovered since May, and the freight indices of various vessel types are recovering. Stimulus packages from various countries have started to boost demand and have increased investment in infrastructure construction, which has helped the recovery in the dry bulk market.