Cargill yesterday reached an agreement with CSSC Leasing, a division of China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), to time-charter four new baby-cape vessels. The agreement includes an option for two more vessels. Baby-cape vessels are typically between 100,000 and 120,000 deadweight tons; they provide customers with the opportunity to load the optimum amount of cargo to fulfil their supply chains.
“Cargill continues to modernize its fleet to provide long-term competitiveness and environmental performance. These vessels will be among the most efficient in the market. Every aspect of the design, build and management ensures they will perform at the highest level” said Jan Dieleman, president of Cargill’s ocean transportation business.
The ships will be built by CSSC’s Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding and delivered throughout 2020. The vessels are tagged primarily to ship coal and grains.
“Demand for baby-cape vessels grew significantly over the past few years. Cargill is expanding its presence in this segment to meet the needs of our customers.” explained Jeremy Bryan, Cargill’s global physical trading lead.
Leading ship management company, Wah Kwong Group, will oversee the technical management and crewing of the vessels.
Source: Cargill