Chinese intra-Asia container operator SITC International has moved to grow its owned fleet, exercising options for six additional feeder vessels in a deal worth $137m.

The Hong Kong-listed carrier said its unit SITC Shipowner will press ahead with the newbuilds under an existing deal with Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group subsidiaries Jiangsu Yangzi Hongyuan Shipbuilding and Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding.

The ships will be 1,100 teu units, priced at about $22.8m each, with deliveries scheduled between the end of March and late August 2028.

The latest order stems from options attached to a contract signed in December 2025, when SITC booked four vessels at the same yards and secured rights for up to six more units.

SITC said the move will support its push to expand its self-owned fleet as demand continues to build across its core intra-Asia trades.

The company has been steadily adding tonnage this year. Earlier, it returned to Huanghai Shipbuilding for two more 2,700 teu ships, taking its programme at the Shandong yard to eight vessels worth around $76m.

SITC ranks 14th globally among containerlines, operating about 121 vessels with a combined capacity of roughly 187,500 teu. Around 100 ships are owned, highlighting the group’s focus on controlling its fleet rather than relying heavily on charters.