TCC Group Holdings subsidiary, Ta-Ho Maritime Corporation placed Newbuilding order for two new environmentally friendly Ultramax bulk carriers

Ta-Ho Maritime Corp,a subsidiary of TCC Group Holdings CO., LTD., has ordered 2 new ships to join its fleet! Ta-Ho Maritime Corp. has recently strike a contract with Jiangsu Haitong Shipbuilding Co., Ltd in China to build two up-to-date 63,500-ton Ultramax new-generation bulk carriers. These two bulk carriers are scheduled to be delivered in 2026. With such expansion, Ta-Ho Maritime Corp. will be able to diversify its shipping businesses in the future and in turn echo TCC Group Holdings efforts to expand and penetrate its footprint in the low-carbon cement market in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Ever since 2015, Ta-Ho has been actively replacing its old fleet with a replacement rate of 70%. Currently, there have been 9 new environmental protection bulk carriers and cement carriers in service, accounting for roughly 81% of its total fleet, which is a considerable higher proportion than its Taiwan-based peers.

Ta-Ho’s fleet currently comprises of 7 Kamsarmax-type bulk carriers, each with a carrying capacity of over 80,000 tons operating globally. Customers are all well-known international corporations which include mining companies, agricultural product exporters, and energy firms. These two new Ultramax bulk carriers ordered are relatively smaller in size and carrying capacity compared to Ta-Ho’s existing Kamsarmax-type ones, which should facilitate Ta-Ho Maritime Corp. with more flexibility in navigating shallow ports in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia.

Since the beginning of the year, the global bulk carrier market has experienced a booming era, and freight rates have risen accordingly. Ta-Ho Maritime Corp. has also benefited from such trend, with its revenue tops NT$2.3 billion in the first half of 2024, an increase of 2.7% over the same period last year. TA-Ho Maritime Corp. stated that although environmental protection ships have higher capital investments, their operating costs are relatively low due to energy-saving and carbon reduction advantages that comes with, which can bring in higher returns in the long run.

Additionally, with the global trend of sustainability on the rise, many major international ports are expected to initiate certain restrictions on high-energy and high-carbon emission ships. In turn, up-to-date environmentally friendly ships will enjoin a clear advantage, not only improving competitiveness but also potentially enjoying lower port fees or tax incentives due to their environmental-friendly features. Ta-Ho Maritime Corp. believes that new-generation environmentally friendly ships will become the first choices for its partners in the future.

The newly signed ship type is 199 meters long, 32.26 meters wide, and has a maximum draft of 13.5 meters. It comprises with a new main engine and multiple environmental protection and energy-saving designs, including upgraded bow lines, increased wave resistance, and reduced wave-making resistance. It is also equipped with a ducted propeller and PBCF (Propeller Boss Cap Fins) to increase propulsion efficiency, reduce fuel consumption, and lower carbon emissions, further expanding energy-saving benefits. With a phase III design, the ships can also reduce its carbon emissions by 30% compared to 2015 design ones, and is equipped with the NAPA Fleet Intelligence monitoring system, which will continuously collect ship operating data and combines it with water level data to propose the most environmentally friendly routes, ensuring that the carbon intensity index (CII) will always be maintained at the best level of A, exceeding IMO regulations by 24.7%.

TCC Group Holdings Chairman Nelson Chang once said, "We are on the right path, and we are not alone." He emphasized that "carbon reduction and economic development can go hand in hand." Ta-Ho Maritime Corp. is endeavored to strictly follow TCC Group's global carbon reduction and green development strategy and actively develop in line with the International Maritime Organization's 2050 goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, fully devote to strengthen the service quality of its green environmental protection fleet, and continuously improve overall operating efficiency to ensure high competitiveness in the market and fulfill its responsibilities to the earth and oceans.