| Bulk carrier U-Ming orders two cement carriers |
| Taipei-listed bulk carrier U-Ming Marine announced on 18 March that the company has placed an order for two cement carriers. These two newbuildings will replace the old vessels of U-Ming’s fleet, according to its filing to the exchange. The company stressed that the new cement carriers will be cleaner and better for the environment. The builder and delivery time were not disclosed in the filing. Currently, the company operates five cement carriers, built in 1980, 1987, 1989, 1993, and 1995, and ranging from 6,000 dwt to 12,000 dwt. U-Ming took the delivery of eight newly built bulk carriers in 2014, all of which were constructed by Oshima Shipbuilding in Japan. Since 2012, the company has already divested eight old vessels, and acquired 14 newbuildings. Currently, it still has 10 newbuildings under construction: four Capesize by Shanghai Waigaoqiao shipyard, and two 85,056 dwt bulk carriers and four Supermax by Oshima Shipbuilding. These are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2017. U-Ming Marine posted a revenue of TWD8.36 billion (USD266 million) for the period from January to November 2014, up 26.47% from TWD6.61 billion in 2013, and its revenue in November stood at TWD779 million, 1.66% lower than the previous year, but still 1.43% higher than October 2014. |