Hong Kong-based BG Shipping has lined up four Ultramax bulk carriers at China’s Jiangsu Soho Innovation & Technology Shipbuilding under an operating lease arrangement with Suyin Financial Leasing, marking the Chinese lessor’s entry into ship operating leases.
The four-vessel project will add a combined 256,000 dwt to BG Shipping’s fleet. According to an announcement by Suyin Financial Leasing, the transaction represents its first ship operating lease deal.
Details of the contract value, lease duration and vessel delivery schedule have not been disclosed.
BG Shipping is the international dry bulk shipping arm of state-owned Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group. The Hong Kong-based company currently controls and operates more than 80 vessels with an aggregate capacity exceeding 6 million dwt, spanning Capesize, Kamsarmax, Panamax and smaller bulk carrier segments.
The company’s fleet figures include commercially controlled tonnage and are not limited to vessels under direct ownership.
The latest transaction also strengthens Suyin Financial Leasing’s ties with China’s shipbuilding industry. Backed by Bank of Jiangsu, the lessor had previously financed a 63,500 dwt bulk carrier constructed at Jiangsu Soho for Jiangsu Ocean Shipping through a cross-border direct leasing arrangement.
The BG Shipping deal, however, marks a significant development in Suyin’s shipping finance activities, representing a shift towards operating lease structures from its earlier direct leasing transactions.