China expanding the use of dry bulk carriers for global project cargo shipments

China recorded a remarkable increase in the export of project cargo via dry bulk carriers in 2024, reports Splash247.com.

Project cargo refers to oversized and heavy shipments, such as machinery, specialized vehicles, wind turbines, and other equipment for energy facilities and similar industries.

According to AIS (Automatic Identification System) satellite data on bulk carrier movements collected by AXSMarine, Ursa Shipbrokers estimates that 3 million tons of project cargo were exported from China on dry bulk carriers last year. This required the use of vessels with a total deadweight capacity of 3.99 million tons.

This represents a 106% and 103% increase, respectively, compared to 2023, according to Splash247.

Throughout 2024, 158 dry bulk carriers were deployed for a total of 160 project cargo shipments from China, marking a 58% increase in the number of vessels and a 60% rise in the number of voyages compared to 2023, Ursa Shipbrokers reports.