JME adds another ultramax to New Dayang series
Key Takeaways
- •The new 64,000 dwt Crown 63 vessel is expected to be delivered in early 2030.
- •The contract has not been publicly announced by JME Navigation, New Dayang Shipbuilding or Sumec Marine.
- •JME now has three ultramax vessels on order at New Dayang, and five Crown 63 ships in its latest programme.
- •Two earlier New Dayang vessels for JME were contracted in 2023 and delivered last year, while others are due in 2027 and 2028.
- •A recent public tender for similar New Dayang ships priced them at about $38.5 million each, highlighting tight availability of 2030 slots.
Greek owner JME Navigation has returned to China’s New Dayang Shipbuilding for another ultramax, securing one of the yard’s remaining 2030 delivery positions.
Brokers report that the 64,000 dwt Crown 63 vessel is due in early 2030. The contract was reportedly signed some time ago but has not been announced by JME, New Dayang or yard parent Sumec Marine. No price has emerged.
The latest deal lifts JME’s orderbook at the Yangzhou-based builder to three ultramaxes, extending a relationship that already spans multiple generations of the yard’s bulkers. A ship contracted in June 2024 is scheduled for delivery in July 2027, while another, ordered last November, is due to follow towards the end of 2028.
The new ship takes JME’s latest New Dayang programme to five Crown 63 units. The first two, Princess Eirini and Harilaos Junior, were ordered as a pair in 2023 and delivered last year.
JME’s website lists six vessels in operation, comprising four ultramaxes, one supramax and one handysize. The company also has a longer history with the yard, having taken three bulkers from predecessor Yangzhou Dayang between 2013 and 2015.
The price of the latest order has not been disclosed. For comparison, a public tender awarded to New Dayang this month valued two similar 64,000 dwt ships for Zhejiang Shipping at about $38.5m apiece, with both vessels also due in 2030. That underlines how tightly scheduled the Crown 63 line has become as production slots stretch further out.
New Dayang has delivered more than 160 ships from its Crown 63 series, with production slots now stretching into 2030.