Hengli Petrochemical has risen to the top of the global containership orderbook, capturing a 7.9% market share in July, up from 5.7% at the start of 2026. The company’s share of the global shipyard orderbook expanded to 6.4% in July, an increase of 0.8 percentage points from the previous month.
Global new vessel orders totaled 3.6 million compensated gross tons in July, a 22% decline from the same period last year, according to Bank of America’s August shipyard data report. Chinese shipyards dominated the market, securing 81% of July’s orders. Tanker volumes rose 25% year-over-year, while orders for vessels of 8,000 TEU and above increased 3%. Bulker orders, however, fell 30% year-over-year.
Hengli Petrochemical, listed as 600346, secured approximately 199 vessel orders between January and mid-August, including 31 new vessels ordered from July through mid-August. Year-to-date global orders reached 50.9 million compensated gross tons, representing 87% of the full-year 2025 order volume. The shipyard forward cover extended to 4.28 years in August, up from 4.26 years in July.
The global orderbook expanded 11% in volume and 13% in value year-over-year. Newbuild prices in August narrowed the gap to the 2024 peak to 2%, turning flat year-over-year. China’s newbuild price index rose 3% year-over-year in July.
Tankers remained the primary driver of new orders, spanning sizes from very large crude carriers to Handysize vessels. Large containership orders grew, while overall containership orders declined in July. Hudong-Zhonghua announced capacity expansion plans in August, focusing on liquefied natural gas carriers.
