China’s state-run shipping group COSCO is closing in on another major boxship order, with brokers pointing to a deal for up to 12 LNG dual-fuel container vessels worth more than $2bn.

Market sources say the group is in advanced talks with CSSC’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for a series of 14,000 teu neo-panamax ships, with pricing understood to be in the $170m–$190m range per vessel, taking the overall contract value to roughly $2bn–$2.3bn.

Splash understands the newbuilds are expected to be deployed by Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), COSCO’s Hong Kong-based liner arm.

No delivery timeline has been disclosed, but the move would further bulk up COSCO’s already sizeable orderbook and mark a step deeper into LNG as a marine fuel.

Earlier this year, the group booked around $2.7bn worth of new tonnage, including 12 LNG dual-fuel 18,000 teu vessels at Jiangnan Shipyard and six smaller conventionally fuelled ships at COSCO Zhoushan.

The state-run giant has, until recently, focused more on methanol-capable designs, including OOCL’s 2025 order for 14 methanol dual-fuel 18,500 teu boxships at DACKS and NACKS. OOCL has also added chartered tonnage, signing for six 13,000 teu ships from Seaspan, with deliveries running from late 2026 through early 2028.

If confirmed, the Hudong order would push COSCO’s newbuilding pipeline even higher. Including OOCL, the group already ranks as the world’s fourth-largest liner operator, with a fleet of about 555 vessels and a capacity of roughly 3.6m teu. According to fleet data, COSCO could have more than 120 ships on order, totalling over 1.4m teu, if the latest deal goes through.