News Breakbulk & Project Cargo
Replenishment ramp-up
Operators expand fleets with raft of new MPV, ro / ro orders
By Keith Wallis
The breakbulk and project cargo vessel fleet is set to expand after three separate ship operators inked deals to add a raft of ships to their stables in late January.
DS Norden confirmed it will charter up to eight 17,400-deadweight metric ton( dwt) multipurpose vessels from Singapore-headquartered Wealth Holdings Shipping, with delivery of the first vessel expected in 2028.
Wealth Holdings has placed a firm order for four ships with China’ s Jiangsu Haitong Shipyard and has options for four similar vessels, a Norden spokesperson confirmed. The ships will take Norden’ s total MPV order backlog to 24 ships, which include two MPVs Norden agreed in early January to acquire on long-term lease when the newbuild ships are delivered in 2028. The ship leases include purchase options for Norden to buy the vessels at the end of the rental period.
Norden had 14 vessels on order at the end of last year that are also being acquired on newbuild leases with purchase options.
The Copenhagen-headquartered carrier said expansion of its MPV fleet is a“ continuation of our strategy to grow our presence in the project cargo market.”
“ The MPV segment benefits from favorable supply fundamentals, with a rapidly aging fleet and low order book, coupled with a strong demand outlook,” the carrier said in a statement.
Stena RoRo, roll-on / roll-off vessel operator based in Gothenberg, Sweden, has ordered up to six C-Flexer 15,000-dwt ro / ro ships from its long-term partner shipbuilder China Merchants Industry( CMI) Weihai Shipyard, the carrier said in a statement Jan. 28.
New orders point to steady MPV fleet expansion
Multipurpose and heavy-lift vessel deliveries and demolitions, with forecast
Number of vessels
Breakbulk index reflects sustained optimism
One World Multipurpose Sentiment Index( MSI); an index reading of 50 is neutral, above 50 indicates optimism and below 50 indicates pessimism
Index
134
100
100 50
-50 L 2025 2030
62
60
58
46 56
54
52
50
48
0
MPV delivered MPV demolished HL capable delivered HL capable demolished Net fleet loss / gain
Notes: Data as of January 2026; Heavy-lift capable maximum combinable lift > 240mt SWL Shaded areas indicate forecasts
Source: Journal of Commerce, S & P Global © 2026 S & P Global
L Jul Jan 2023 Jul
Source: One World Shipbrokers
Jan 2024
Jul
Jan 2025 Jul Jan 2026
© 2026 S & P Global
L
L
“ The MPV segment benefits from favorable supply fundamentals... coupled with a strong demand outlook.”
The deal covers a firm order for two ships to be delivered in March and June 2029, plus options for four other vessels to be delivered at three-month intervals starting from September 2029.
The ships, developed by Stena RoRo in cooperation with Italian design company NAOS Ship and Boat Design, are the latest iteration of Stena’ s Flexer design and feature multi-fuel engines and a scalable battery-hybrid system.“ In the future, the C-Flexer will be able to operate entirely on batteries,” Per Westling, Stena RoRo managing director, said in the statement.“ Until then, the installed diesel-battery hybrid system will provide the necessary flexibility and redundancy for many years to come.”
Another new order came from Meriaura, headquartered in Turku, Finland, which signed a contract with China’ s Jiangsu Zhenjiang Shipyard( Group) for a 6,800-dwt open deck carrier to be delivered by the beginning of 2028, the vessel operator said. The ice-classed ship will be Meriaura’ s third open-deck carrier, following the smaller 4,500- dwt vessels Aura and Meri that are currently in service.
Meriaura said the ship, similar to the earlier vessels, has been designed by Deltamarin Finland. It will be equipped with three main engines that can be adapted to operate on future low- or zero-carbon fuels, and it will primarily operate in the short-sea shipping market.
“ Meriaura’ s open-deck carriers are market leaders in several heavy cargo segments in Northern Europe, but there is still significant untapped potential in regional
20 Journal of Commerce | March 2026 www. joc. com