Egypt has contracted with China to build two new ships, one of the latest clean dry bulk ships, to raise the number of ships in the Egyptian fleet to 16 ships, as it is targeted to reach 31 ships by the year 2030.
Lieutenant General Engineer Kamel Al-Wazir, Minister of Transport, witnessed the signing of the contract to build the two new ships between the National Shipping Company, one of the companies of the Ministry of Transport, and the Chinese “Hantung” shipyard.
The contract was signed by Mohamed Suleiman, Managing Director of the National Shipping Company and Ming Xingjun, Chairman of Hantong.
According to the contract, the total tonnage of one ship is 82 thousand tons, its length is 229 meters, its width is 32.26 meters, and its draft is 14.5 metres. The two ships will be built in accordance with the latest environmental requirements, with delivery taking place during the year 2026.
“Hantong” is one of the largest global shipyards specialized in building clean dry bulk ships, according to one of the designs and international expert houses specializing in ship design.
The arsenal has built 148 ships, including 49 ships under construction, with a total tonnage of 12.6 million tons.
On the sidelines of the signing activities, the Minister stressed that this day is one of the important days for Egyptian maritime transport, which is considered one of the important sectors in the Ministry, pointing out that the years 2023 and 2024 witnessed great development in the field of restoring the strength of the commercial fleet sector, as the ship “Valley of the Kings” was inaugurated. With a capacity of 82 thousand tons, the ship “Wadi Al-Arish” with a capacity of 82 thousand tons was received in January of this year, and after only three months the contract was signed to build two other ships of the same type and technology, which represents a major breakthrough in strengthening the fleet.
The minister indicated that the number of ships in the fleet will increase after receiving the two new ships to 16 ships, with a transportation capacity exceeding one million tons annually, to secure the transportation of strategic goods coming to Egypt, especially wheat. More than 40% of the fleet’s strength will have been renewed in just three years.