Chinese Shipyard Terminates Greek Contract

Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) Ltd has terminated a contract with Greek shipowner FreeSeas Ltd after it failed to make payments

The cancelled contract was for Yangzijiang to build two bulk carriers for FreeSeas, an external spokeswoman for the Chinese shipbuilder told Reuters.

Although the orders from FreeSeas account for only 1 percent of Yangzijiang's $4.5 billion order book, "the cancellation will still be negative on sentiment as this is Yangzijiang's first contract cancellation on default," said DBS Vickers in a report.

It added that among the Singapore-listed shipyards, COSCO Corp Singapore Ltd has the highest exposure to Greece and Europe, with more than 60 percent of its order book from the region, while Yangzijiang will be the least affected among Chinese yards.