Seacon Shipping Group Holdings Limited, a Hong Kong-listed comprehensive ship management provider (stock code: 2409), executed several strategic transactions in 2025 in order to modernize its fleet and strengthen market position. Operating over 200 third-party vessels under their management, offering technical management, crew dispatch, financing services and technical consulting. Seacon reported an impressive net profit of 32.5 Million USD on 138 Million USD revenue for first half 2024 net profits alone!
Purchase of Seven Modern Multi-Purpose Vessels
On January 27, 2025, Seacon Shipping Group signed an agreement with Danish company Baltic Shipping to acquire seven small multi-purpose vessels for 63.7 million euros (approximately 521 million Hong Kong dollars). The vessels, MV Baltic Fin, Baltic Grain, Baltic Moon, Baltic Wind, Baltic Steel, and Baltic Sun, were built between 2022 and 2024, each costing about 9.1 million euros with an average age under two years. Delivery is scheduled between April and June 2025.
Seacon's acquisition is part of its plan to introduce more efficient vessels into its shipping services fleet and enhance flexibility and market competitiveness. They note that adding controllable vessels will better meet customer demands and attract large clients; industry analysts recognize this move is in sync with increasing demands for younger ships in a recovering global market.
Baltic Shipping was established in 1950 to serve the European market with up to 95 bulk carriers ranging in weight from 1,100-14,000 dwt. Recently, it formed the joint venture, Baltic Bulk, with Norwegian Risor Shipping for Handysize and Supramax operations.
Golden Dahlia sold to Union Maritime Services
Seacon Shipping sold the 2021-built 34,800 dwt MR1 product tanker Golden Dahlia to UK-based Union Maritime for approximately 32.9 million USD. The Qingdao-based operator first bought the vessel out of its bareboat charter with AVIC Leasing for 21 million USD, with delivery set for April 2025.
The directors view this disposal as an opportunity to realize a reasonable price, bolstering working capital, liquidity, and funding for new vessel acquisitions to optimize the fleet portfolio. This follows a similar transaction last April, when sister vessel Golden Lavender (2022-built by Fujian Mawei) was sold to Union Maritime for 36 million USD in June.
Union Maritime operates approximately 50 tankers, excluding an impressive orderbook consisting of four 24,200-dwt newbuilds at Dalian Shipbuilding Offshore Company.
Order Electric Research and Training Container Ship
On July 2, 2025, Seacon Shipping and Shanghai Maritime University placed an order with Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding for an electric research and training container vessel of 460 TEU capacity with seven 2,000 kWh battery units, featuring lecture theatre seating for 50 trainees as well as library, seminar rooms and seminar space - and scheduled delivery by 2027.
As a floating laboratory for commercial cargo, maritime training, and research, Seacon's new vessel serves to address talent gaps related to digitalization, smart shipping, and sustainability. Seacon currently operates dry bulk carriers and chemical tankers but plans on time-charting it to a Chinese domestic operator for coastal trades.
Launch of China's First FuelEU Maritime Compliance Pool
Seacon Shipping unveiled China's inaugural FuelEU Maritime Compliance Pool to address EU regulation effective January 1, 2025 that mandates ships over 5,000 GT calling at EU ports meet Well-to-Wake emission intensity limits, with increasingly severe fines for noncompliance.
The pool aggregates emission credits and deficits across vessels to achieve fleet-level compliance, without expensive retrofits or high-price low-carbon fuels. Benefits include balanced surplus deficits to avoid fine escalation, simplified contracts without ship-specific penalties, enhanced ESG credentials, as well as balanced surplus deficits that prevent fine escalation. A digital platform facilitates emission monitoring aligned with future IMO Net-Zero Framework goals by 2028.