German shipping group HS Shipping (HS Schiffahrt) and ship finance company Mare Trust have joined forces to launch a major newbuilding program for multipurpose heavy-lift vessels (MPP) at Jiangsu Soho Marine Heavy Industry in China.
The partners have placed firm orders for four vessels of 12,500 DWT, scheduled for delivery between August 2027 and February 2029. In addition, they secured options under a “2+2+2” scheme for another six vessels, potentially expanding the program to 10 ships in total.
If the full series is executed, the value of the program will run into the high hundreds of millions of dollars, based on current estimates of about $30 million per vessel. Mare Trust is contributing up to €100 million ($117.5 million) in equity to the project. The Oldenburg-based investor currently owns 65 vessels, mostly small container ships, bulkers, and MPPs.
For HS Schiffahrt, this marks a significant expansion in the MPP segment: the company already operates five vessels ranging from 8,200 to 13,500 DWT and manages around 30 feeder ships and bulk carriers.
The surge in orders reflects renewed global demand for multipurpose vessels. Recently, Carsten Rehder contracted four 7,500 DWT MPPs at India’s Garden Reach Shipbuilders, with options for two more, while UK-based owners reportedly reserved up to four 12,600 DWT ships at Rizhao Kingda Shipbuilding in China for delivery in 2027.
