Despite the possibility of increased US tariffs, the world’s largest container shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), continues to place orders for container ships, increasing its shipbuilding orders with Chinese shipyards.
Industry news reports that MSC has once again demonstrated its strong demand for newbuildings and recently announced orders for multiple LNG dual-fuel container ships. The order volume now exceeds the current fleet size of Japan’s Ocean Network Express (ONE), the world’s sixth-largest shipping company.
Its new shipbuilding projects are shared among several Chinese shipyards, including Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, Hengli Heavy Industries, Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard Co. LTD (Changhong International), China Merchants Heavy Industries Haimen shipyard (CMHI Haimen shipyard) and China Merchants Industry Qingdao Shipyard.
Hengli Heavy Industries secures two 22,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships
MSC has confirmed an order for two 22,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships from Hengli Heavy Industries, with delivery scheduled for 2029. This ship type is one of the largest container ships in the world, with extremely high loading capacity and advanced intelligent management systems.
Hengli Heavy Industries stated that these two container ships are follow-up vessels to the previous batch of ultra-large container ships it undertook. Together with the six 22,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships signed in April this year, the total number of vessels of the same type co-built by the two parties has reached eight, with each vessel costing approximately US$220 million and the total value of the eight new vessels amounting to approximately US$1.76 billion.
Changhong International Awards Two 21,700 TEU LNG Container Ships
Following the announcement in February this year that it had secured an order for 4+2+2 22,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships from MSC, the company has placed an additional order with the shipyard for two 21,700 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships with LNG fuel systems, with delivery expected in 2029. It is currently unclear whether the latest two new ships are follow-on vessels from the previous order.
Since 2023, MSC and Changhong International have signed contracts for approximately 40 container ships ranging in size from 10,300 TEU to 22,000 TEU, with delivery dates extending as far as 2029. Changhong International has become MSC’s largest shipbuilding partner globally.
Shipyards owned by China Merchants Industry obtain order for 3+3 22,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships
In June this year, MSC was rumored to have placed an order with a shipyard owned by China Merchants Industry for 3+3 22,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships, with each ship costing between US$206 million and US$210 million, and the total order value exceeding US$1.2 billion.
The first three vessels will be constructed by CMHI Haimen Shipyard, with delivery expected to begin in 2027. The subsequent three vessels will be constructed by China Merchants Industry Qingdao Shipyard, with delivery of the backup orders expected to begin in 2027, as per standard practice.
Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding secures order for four 22,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships
According to TradeWinds, MSC has ordered four 22,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships from Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. Each vessel will cost approximately US$230 million, with the four new vessels valued at a total of US$920 million. Delivery is expected in 2028.
If confirmed, this order will mark another collaboration between the two parties following the signing of a contract in August 2024 for six 19,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships. Each vessel in this series has a unit price of US$210 million, with a total order value of US$1.26 billion. Delivery is expected between 2027 and 2028.
These new shipbuilding orders will further expand MSC’s new ship order scale, and its capacity has far exceeded that of its competitors. In the global container shipping company rankings, MSC still ranks first in the world, with about 130 ships under construction, with a total capacity of nearly 2.2 million TEUs, and its existing giant container fleet is about to break the 7 million TEU mark. In addition, the latest orders also confirm MSC’s strategic direction of increasingly using LNG as a transitional fuel.