China Cosco Holdings Co., the flagship of state-owned shipping conglomerate China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co., said Wednesday that it signed two deals valued at a combined $420.5 million to purchase 10 ships.

Cosco said in a statement that it signed deals to buy six bulk carriers with a deadweight of 81,600 metric tons each for $188.9 million and four bulk carriers with a deadweight of 208,000 tons each for $231.6 million. The ships will be delivered between 2016 and 2017 from shipyards in China.

The company was considering placing dozens of orders for new cargo ships in 2014 to take advantage of the Chinese government’s new cash subsidies for vessel scrapping, two people familiar with the matter said last year. The purchases would allow the company to upgrade its fleet of aging dry-bulk ships, they said.