12 vessels worth over 17 billion! Chinese shipyards are in demand! Shipping giants rush to order new ships

The global market for new container ship orders remains red-hot, with shipyards scrambling for capacity amid fierce competition. Danish shipping giant Maersk is also accelerating its efforts, pushing forward with a new round of LNG dual-fuel ultra-large container ship construction plans.

According to TradeWinds, Maersk plans to order up to 12 dual-fuel LNG-powered container ships with a capacity of 18,000 TEU. The first batch of approximately six vessels could be formally confirmed as early as next month. Previously, Maersk intended to finalize negotiations with shipyards by year-end. However, the recent surge in container ship orders has led to increasingly scarce available dockyard resources, prompting Maersk to accelerate its timeline.

Industry insiders revealed that Maersk is also considering an alternative option to upgrade these vessels to 22,000 TEU capacity. Should Maersk ultimately opt for the 22,000 TEU vessels, they would become the largest ships in its fleet. Currently, the largest container ships in Maersk's owned fleet are the 11 second-generation 3E-class 20,568 TEU vessels ordered from South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding (now Hanwha Ocean) in 2015.

Shipyards competing for Maersk's major order include Gangnam Shipbuilding, China Merchants Industry, Yangtze River Shipbuilding, New Century Shipbuilding, and Hengli Heavy Industry, alongside South Korea's HD Hyundai Group and Hanwha Ocean. Relevant shipyards submitted their quotation proposals on August 1.

Shipbrokers believe Chinese shipbuilders hold a significant pricing advantage over their South Korean counterparts, with each vessel costing approximately $20-30 million (RMB 142-214 million) less. For bulk orders like Maersk's, the premium required to select South Korean yards becomes increasingly evident, suggesting Maersk may ultimately place the order with Chinese shipbuilders.

For reference, earlier this year, CMA CGM placed orders for 24 dual-fuel LNG-powered 18,000 TEU vessels with Chinese and South Korean shipyards. Among these, the 12 vessels contracted by Gangnam Shipbuilding were priced at approximately $207-208 million per ship (equivalent to RMB 142-214 million), while the 12 vessels contracted by HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering were priced at $215.4 million per ship.

However, Maersk maintains long-standing partnerships with both Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean in South Korea. Hanwha Ocean's predecessor, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, previously built 20 3E-class 18,270 TEU vessels for Maersk—the world's first ultra-large container ships at the time—along with 11 second-generation 3E-class 20,568 TEU vessels.

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries secured Maersk's first global order for methanol dual-fuel container ships in 2021, comprising one 2,100 TEU feeder vessel and twelve 16,000 TEU ultra-large container ships. This marked Maersk's inaugural investment in dual-fuel vessels. In 2022, Maersk placed an additional order with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for six 17,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel vessels.

Last year, Maersk abruptly shifted its previously steadfast commitment to methanol fuel, publicly announcing a pivot toward LNG dual-fuel vessels. In the latter half of 2021, Maersk itself, as the shipowner, placed orders for as many as 20 LNG dual-fuel container ships across three shipyards in China and South Korea, totaling approximately 300,000 TEU in capacity.

Among these, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding received orders for two 9,000 TEU and six 17,000 TEU container vessels from Maersk, priced at $130 million and $210 million per vessel respectively. New Century Shipbuilding secured orders for six 15,000 TEU vessels, each costing approximately $200 million. Hanwha Ocean also secured orders for six 15,000 TEU vessels, each priced at approximately $210 million.

Beyond these 20 self-owned vessel orders, Clarkson data indicates that Maersk collaborated with multiple shipowners last year to order 34 dual-fuel container ships, totaling approximately 460,000 TEU in capacity. This includes Seaspan's orders for four 9,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel vessels, eight 9,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered vessels, and ten 17,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered vessels from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. Additionally, Seaspan and Norway's SFL Corporation each ordered five 16,800 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered vessels from New Era Shipbuilding. Additionally, Japanese shipowner Lepta Shipping has ordered 9,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered vessels from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding.

With these orders, Maersk has essentially fulfilled the planned orders disclosed in its fleet renewal plan released in August 2024. It is understood that last August, Maersk announced it was signing new orders and time charter contracts for dual-fuel container vessels, planning to order and charter approximately 50-60 dual-fuel container ships totaling around 800,000 TEU. Of these, approximately 300,000 TEU will be owned vessels, while the remaining 500,000 TEU will be operated through time charter agreements.

According to reports, Maersk is currently the world's second-largest container shipping company. The latest data from Alphaliner shows that as of now, Maersk's fleet capacity totals 741 vessels with a combined capacity of 4.63 million TEU, including 343 owned vessels and 398 chartered vessels, representing a market share of approximately 14.1%. Additionally, Maersk has 51 newbuilds under construction, totaling 670,000 TEU, representing 14.5% of its existing fleet.

The scale of Maersk's newbuild program is significantly smaller than that of its competitors—the world's largest container shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), and third-ranked French carrier CMA CGM. Both companies have been active in the newbuilding market in recent years. According to Alphaliner data, MSC currently has 133 vessels under construction with a total capacity of 2.29 million TEU, accounting for about 33.7% of its existing fleet. CMA CGM's order book also stands at 110 vessels with a total capacity of 1.62 million TEU, representing 40.1% of its current fleet. Based on current orders, once all vessels under construction are delivered, CMA CGM's fleet capacity will surpass Maersk's, propelling it to the world's second-largest position.

Since the beginning of this year, MSC has placed orders for 28 LNG dual-fuel vessels exceeding 20,000 TEU at multiple domestic shipyards including Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, Changhong International, Hengli Heavy Industry, and China Merchants Industry. Earlier this year, CMA CGM also placed orders for 12 18,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered vessels with Jiangnan Shipyard and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering. Recent reports indicate CMA CGM has signed a letter of intent with Dalian Shipbuilding for the construction of 6+4 22,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered container ships.

According to Clarkson data, new orders for container ships in the first eight months of this year totaled 294 vessels with a combined capacity of 2.73 million TEU. This figure has already surpassed the full-year 2023 order level of 217 vessels (1.59 million TEU), representing 59% of the 4.65 million TEU new order volume recorded for the entire year of 2024. Last year saw a record-high level of new orders for container ships.