COSCO Continues Spending with $1.7B in Orders for 29 More Vessels
China’s sprawling state-owned shipping company COSCO unveiled plans for a further $1.7 billion in new shipbuilding contracts, continuing a spending spree aimed at fleet expansion and modernization currently estimated at over $7.5 billion in total. News of the orders came just a day after the U.S. reportedly agreed to postpone its investigation into China’s shipbuilding business practices and the fees imposed on China-built, owned, or operated vessels.
COSCO and its subsidiary OOCL were seen as among the most vulnerable companies to the U.S. port fee program. In the first week of the program, COSCO and OOCL reportedly paid over $40 million in special port fees in the U.S., according to estimates by the Journal of Commerce. They estimated that annually, the port fee bill could top $2 billion for the two Chinese carriers.
Even before the implementation of the new port fees, COSCO Shipping, the container shipping division of the company, reported earnings under pressure. During the first nine months of the year, the company reported in a filing on October 30 that total revenues were down more than four percent while profits were down by nearly 30 percent. The declines accelerated in the third quarter of 2025, with revenues down over 20 percent and profits cut in half.
COSCO shipping cited volatile container rates, “persistent spillover effects of tariff policies,” and intensified geopolitical uncertainties contributing to the results, in addition to a slowdown in global trade. The company, however, pointed to “resilient growth,” while emphasizing a strategy of expanded integrated services. As examples, it cited the purchase of the Laem Chabang Terminal in Thailand, network optimization, and new routes between Asia, Mexico, Latin America, and more. COSCO Shipping reported a six percent increase in container volume to over 20 million TEU in nine months and a total throughput of 113 million TEU, up 5.6 percent.
The group announced its expansion strategy in 2024 along with plans for fleet modernization and steps to reduce the environmental impact. It has already placed larger orders in China for newbuild containerships and dry bulk carriers. It highlighted during 2025 that COSCO Shipping completed the maiden voyage of COSCO Shipping Yangpu, China’s first methanol dual-fuel-powered container vessel, and the retrofit of COSCO Shipping Libra into a methanol dual-fuel system containership, “providing invaluable experience for green and low-carbon operation of large container vessels.”
COSCO continues these efforts, announcing that it has ordered six 307,000 dwt Very Large Drude Carriers. It will spend approximately $715 million to build the vessels at the China State Shipbuilding Industry yard in Dalian. Due for delivery between April 2027 and November 2028, the new tankers will be methanol and LNG dual-fuel ready on delivery.
The bulk of the new orders is valued at over $1 billion for 23 new dry bulk carriers. The vessels, which will be 87,000 dwt, will be built by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corp (DSIC). Delivery will be between May 2027 and the end of 2028.
COSCO’s strategy calls for expansion in all parts of its shipping operations. The company reports it is the largest in dry bulk and crude oil shipping, while it ranks fourth overall in container capacity. It emphasizes that its focus is on steady development and actively expanding its integrated approach to shipping, ports, and logistics, the same points cited by the US Trade Representative when it announced the fee program in April 2025.