Multimillion-dollar fleet enlargement on Pacific Basin’s agenda with four vessels being built

December 23, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Hong Kong-based dry bulk vessel owner and operator Pacific Basin Shipping has decided to expand its fleet by buying four Handysize newbuilding vessels for an aggregate consideration of approximately $119.2 million.

Thanks to ship purchase contracts with Jiangmen Nanyang Ship Engineering (JNS), Pacific Basin will acquire four 40,000 dwt Handysize newbuilding vessels, which are expected to be delivered in the first half of 2028.

The ships are designed to feature the latest fuel-efficient, open-hatch and logs-fitted design with greater cargo carrying capacity and flexibility than earlier standard Handysize designs.

The Asian vessel owner claims that these acquisitions double the number of ships in its newbuilding program, which includes four newbuilding Ultramax vessels of dual-fuel design that the company announced in November 2024.

Martin Fruergaard, CEO of Pacific Basin, commented: “One of our strategic priorities is the disciplined renewal and growth of our fleet to enhance scale and efficiency so that we can continue to meet strong customer demand, comply with increasingly stringent fuel-efficiency regulations, increase our market outperformance and deliver long-term shareholder value.

“We see this four ship deal as a well-timed and attractive opportunity to acquire new Handysize vessels of modern, efficient and flexible design to replace some of our recently sold older, smaller vessels. The flexibility that such vessels have to carry more diverse cargoes opens up more cargo opportunities which enables scope for more triangulated trading and, in turn, increased TCE earnings outperformance.”

The firm has opted for vessels of conventionally powered, single-fuel design, mainly because of the lack of proven dual-fuel Handysize designs and the postponement in October 2025 of the International Maritime Organization’s adoption of its planned Net Zero Framework and global measures to drive the shipping industry’s transition to green fuels and ships.

“The agreed price is considered attractive in the current market for newbuildings delivering in 2028, and we are familiar with JNS who have built vessels for us before and who have a sound reputation among leading shipowners,” added Fruergaard.

Pacific Basin Shipping revealed a new $250 million sustainability-linked seven-year senior secured committed revolving credit facility in July 2025 for general corporate purposes.

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