State-owned China Cosco has landed a $1.75bn loan from Export-Import Bank of China to finance 53 newbuildings, local media reported.

The newbuildings include semi-submersibles of 90,000 dwt, oil tankers of 300,000 dwt, containerships of 9,400 teu, and eco-friendly dry bulk carriers. The new ships will be built in Chinese shipyards.

The newbuildings will replace some 100 elderly vessels that were sent to the scrapyard over the last two years, according to Cosco, China’s largest shipping conglomerate.

China EximBank’s latest deal with Cosco, signed last Friday in Beijing, has brought its total shipping loans to RMB580bn ($93.4bn) for 9,637 ships since the bank’s establishment in 1994.

The Chinese bank has a focus to steer most of its financing toward the construction of higher value and eco-friendly vessels such as LNG carriers, large containerships and high-specification offshore vessels.