Mediterranean Shipping Company will order 5 23,000 TEU container ships from a Chinese shipyard
2020-10-07 09:00
Following Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL, MSC, the world's second-largest container shipping company, plans to order 23,000 TEU ultra-large container ships. If the order is finalized, Chinese shipyards are expected to become the biggest winners in this year's wave of ultra-large container ship orders.
According to Tradewinds, MSC will order 5 to 6 23,000 TEU container ships equipped with scrubbers in China and has begun newbuild negotiations with Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, and Jiangnan Shipyard. MSC is reportedly said to have signed letters of intent for container ship construction with Jiangnan Shipyard and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding.
Sources reveal that MSC is seeking cooperation with Chinese financial institutions to finance these container ships. A Chinese financial leasing company may order the new vessels as the owner and then lease them to MSC through a long-term charter agreement. The estimated cost for this batch of 23,000 TEU ultra-large container ships equipped with scrubbers is between 145 million and 148 million US dollars, with a total value reaching 890 million US dollars.
MSC has always “preferred” Korean shipyards. Last year, MSC ordered 5 23,000 TEU container ships from Daewoo Shipbuilding, each costing approximately 152 million US dollars, scheduled for delivery in 2021, and will be equipped with scrubbers.
In July last year, Samsung Heavy Industries was the first to deliver the world's first 23,000 TEU ultra-large container ship, the “MSC Gulsun,” built for MSC.
It is currently unclear whether MSC has approached Japanese or Korean shipyards for this order. Sources say MSC needs 10 to 11 ultra-large vessels, so the company is engaging with Chinese shipyards, hoping to order more new ships in addition to last year's order from Daewoo Shipbuilding in Korea.
In recent months, as rising freight rates have brought strong revenues to container shipping companies, more and more shipping lines are returning to the newbuilding market. Previously, there were reports that OOCL was considering ordering an additional 7 23,000 TEU container ships, and Hapag-Lloyd is also expected to resume its construction plans shelved at the beginning of the year. The once quiet ultra-large container ship newbuilding market may be about to experience a new wave of orders.
OOCL has ordered a total of 5 23,000 TEU container ships in the first half of this year, which is the only 23,000 TEU container ship construction contract this year. The new vessels are being built by Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering and Dalian COSCO KHI Ship Engineering, with each costing approximately 155.7 million US dollars. Sources say OOCL is also considering ordering an additional 7 vessels, and these 7 ships, together with the previous 5 orders, will establish an independent loop for OOCL on the Asia-Europe route.
OOCL's order in the first half of the year marked the first time Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering and Dalian COSCO KHI Ship Engineering received a 23,000 TEU container ship construction contract. Although OOCL's additional shipbuilding plan is still in its early stages and the shipyard has not yet been determined, Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering recently signed a contract with Dalian Marine Valve Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, for 12 sets of remote control butterfly valves for 23,000 TEU container ships. This implies that OOCL's new orders are very likely to also be built by COSCO KHI Ship Engineering.
Additionally, there are reports that Hapag-Lloyd is also expected to resume its construction plans shelved at the beginning of the year, ordering 6 23,000 TEU dual-fuel container ships. According to previous news, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Jiangnan Shipyard have been leading Korea in Hapag-Lloyd's newbuild negotiations and are most likely to secure Hapag-Lloyd's order.
Ocean Network Express (ONE) from Japan also planned to order 23,000 TEU container ships at the beginning of the year, but current reports indicate that ONE plans to sign this new vessel order next year.
In the field of 23,000 TEU ultra-large container ship types, Korean shipyards have historically led China. In 2017, Korean shipyards received orders for 11 23,000 TEU vessels from MSC, and in 2019, they received an additional 5. In 2018, Hyundai Merchant Marine ordered 12 23,000 TEU vessels in Korea, and in 2019, Samsung Heavy Industries of Korea also secured 6 out of Evergreen Marine's 10 new vessel orders, bringing Korea's total orders to 34. In comparison, China's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Jiangnan Shipyard received orders for 9 LNG-powered 23,000 TEU vessels from CMA CGM in 2017, 4 out of Evergreen Marine's 10 orders in 2019, and 5 from OOCL this year, totaling 18 orders.
As of now, Korean shipyards have not yet received any 23,000 TEU container ship orders this year. This means that Chinese shipyards are very likely to be the only ones to secure orders in the 23,000 TEU ultra-large container ship market this year, which will help Chinese shipyards further widen the order gap with Korean shipyards.
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