Recently, feeder container ships and medium-sized container ships have become the spotlight of the new shipbuilding market, and many shipowners are competing to place orders. According to the order situation, Chinese shipyards have become the first choice for shipowners in this round of small and medium-sized container ship orders. Many shipyards such as Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, China Merchants Industry Jinling Shipyard, New Dayang Shipyaed and Sanfu Shipbuilding have received new orders.
According to ship broker MB Shipbrokers, potential shipowners, including regional liner owners and shipowners seeking market opportunities by signing letters of intent, are rushing to book 1,800 TEU to 6,000 TEU ships on an almost daily basis.
The ship broker also said that with this wave of orders, shipyards are facing challenges too, needing to identify orders that can actually be implemented from a series of speculative shipbuilding projects, because most speculative shipowners who have signed letters of intent find it difficult to obtain ship leases before the expiration of the letters of intent. Despite this, several Chinese shipyards have recently benefited from this wave of orders.
Minerva Marine selects two Chinese shipyards for eight ships
Greek shipowner Minerva Marine has also joined the rush to order feeder container ships and has signed letters of intent with Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Huanghai Shipbuilding for the construction of 2+2 1800 TEU container ships. The series of ships will use conventional fuel, with each ship costing between US$30 million and US$33 million. Delivery is expected between the end of 2027 and 2028.
A few days ago, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding won a contract from South Korea’s CK Line to build 2+2 1,100TEU container ships, which are scheduled to be delivered in 2027 with an order value of US$92 million. Earlier this year, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding also won 2+2 4,400TEU container ships from Thailand’s Regional Container Lines (RCL) and 2+2 3,000TEU container ships from Vietnam’s Hai’an Transport and Stevedoring Joint Stock Company.
In addition to the above-mentioned letters of intent for the construction of two 1,800 TEU container ships, Huanghai Shipbuilding also won a shipbuilding contract from Seatrade, the world’s largest refrigerated ship operator, last month.
Specifically, Huanghai Shipbuilding will build 2+6 2,800 TEU container ships for Seatrade, with delivery expected in 2027. The value of the order has not been disclosed. Upon completion and delivery, they will become the largest container ships in Seatrade’s fleet, with outstanding refrigeration capabilities, each ship equipped with more than 1,000 refrigerated container power outlets.
Hartmann orders one optional ship from Chinese shipyard
German shipowner Hartmann announced that it will exercise an option for one 3,500 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ship, costing approximately US$75 million, making it the seventh ship in the series. The latest effective order will be built by Sanfu Shipbuilding.
According to recent news from Norwegian shipowner MPC Container Ships, the company has signed a contract with Sanfu Shipbuilding for four 4,500 TEU container ships, which are expected to be delivered in the second half of 2027, including several optional ships to enable future expansion in line with market opportunities. The four confirmed orders have all been signed as three-year charter contracts.
The new ship will adopt the latest energy-saving technology, reducing cabin costs by approximately 50% compared to similar ships currently in operation. It will also feature a dual-fuel design, allowing it to be converted to ammonia or methanol fuel in the future, in line with the global shipping industry’s decarbonization goals.
The market for small and medium-sized container ships is booming, with Chinese shipyards becoming the first choice.
Judging from the current order situation, the boom in container shipbuilding has shifted from large ships to medium and small ships. Leveraging their competitive advantages, Chinese shipyards have won many orders in this round of order boom.
Since June this year, Chinese shipyards that have received orders for small and medium-sized container ships include: China Merchants Industry Jinling Shipyard for 6 1800TEU container ships, Zhoushan Xinqi Heavy Industry for 4+4 1056TEU container ships, New Dayang Shipyard for 2+2 1100TEU container ships and a letter of intent to build 2+2 3100TEU container ships, Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding for 2+2 1900TEU container ships and 4 2700TEU container ships and Penglai Zhongbai Jinglu Ship Industry Co., Ltd. (Jinglu Shipyard) for 3 3000TEU container ships.
During the above-mentioned statistical period, South Korean shipyards publicly announced two feeder container ships, namely two 2,800 TEU container ships ordered by Greek Capital Maritime from HD Hyundai Mipo; Japanese shipyards announced three ships, namely three 8,000 TEU medium-sized methanol-ready container ships ordered by Yang Ming Marine Transport, with a construction cost ranging from US$117 million to US$131 million, and delivery scheduled for 2028 to 2030.
Although several shipbuilding contracts have been made public, MB Shipbrokers predicts that newbuilding activity for small and medium-sized container ships will remain high in the coming weeks, and that feeder container ship slots for 2028 may sell out quickly.
There are also reports that Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and CMA CGM are considering building container ships with a capacity of 1,000 TEU to 6,000 TEU.