Against the backdrop of an overall decline in global new shipbuilding orders in 2025, container ships emerged as the only vessel type market experiencing positive growth. Entering 2026, the market for new container ship construction continued to heat up, with a steady stream of new orders, and Chinese shipyards remained the preferred choice for global container ship owners.
On January 27, Evergreen Marine, a Taiwanese container shipping company, announced it has finalized orders for 23 container ships of two types from China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding’s subsidiary, New Yangzi Shipbuilding. The total cost of the order ranges between US$1.205 billion and US$1.47 billion.
Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding secures 16 3,100 TEU container ships
According to information disclosed by Evergreen Marine, Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding is responsible for constructing 16 3,100 TEU container ships, with each vessel costing between $46 million and $56 million. The total order value ranges from $736 million to $896 million.
In the feeder container ship market, Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding has been one of Evergreen Marine’s preferred shipyards, with the two parties having signed contracts for 46 feeder container ships since 2021.
In September 2021, Evergreen Marine signed a lump-sum contract with Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard for 24 feeder container ships of three different types, including two 1800 TEU vessels, eleven 2300 TEU vessels, and eleven 3000 TEU vessels. The cost per vessel ranged from approximately $28 million to $51 million, with a total transaction value of approximately US$958 million to $1.098 billion. This shipbuilding contract set a record at the time for the largest single commercial order in the history of Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding and the largest single order for feeder container newbuilds ever received by China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
In June 2024, Evergreen Marine placed an order at Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding for the construction of six 2,400 TEU methanol dual-fuel feeder container ships, valued between $52 million and $58 million each. The total order value ranges from $312 million to $348 million, with deliveries expected to commence in the second half of 2026.
As of December 10, 2025, Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding has delivered a total of 24 feeder container ships to Evergreen Marine, with the latest delivery being the 2300 TEU container ship “EVER WORLD”.
Entering 2026, with the latest orders from Evergreen Marine, Huangpu Wenchong has received orders for 22+2 new vessels, all of which are container ships. The remaining 6+2 vessels are from Ningbo Ocean Shipping and Greece’s Danaos. The four new vessels from Ningbo Ocean Shipping have a capacity of 4300 TEU, while the 2+2 new vessels from Danaos have a capacity of 5300 TEU.
New Yangzi Shipbuilding secures order for seven 5,900 TEU container ships
In addition to the 16 new vessels at Huangpu Wenchong, Evergreen Marine announced on the same day an order for seven 5,900 TEU container ships from New Yangzi Shipbuilding. Each vessel is priced between $67 million and $82.6 million, with the total order valued at $469 million to $574 million.
It is reported that the aforementioned order for seven container ships marks Evergreen Marine’s first shipbuilding contract with Yangzijiang Shipbuilding.
Driven by carbon emission regulations, market demand for environmentally friendly vessels has surged, ushering in a new wave of prosperity for the container shipbuilding market. By 2025, it has become the undisputed pillar of the global newbuild market. Data shows that in 2025, global shipowners placed orders for 644 container ships, with a total capacity of 4.759 million TEU, setting a historic record.
By country, in 2025, Chinese shipyards secured orders for 518 container ships totaling 3.446 million TEUs, capturing a market share of approximately 72% and achieving substantial control over the container ship market. South Korean shipyards secured orders for 105 ships totaling 1.247 million TEUs, representing a 26% market share. The remaining approximately 2% of the container ship market share was divided among shipyards in Japan and other countries/regions.
Entering 2026, enthusiasm for new container ship construction shows no signs of waning. According to incomplete statistics, as of January 28, 2026, global shipowners have placed orders for at least 60 container ships. In addition to Evergreen Marine’s recently announced 23 new vessels of two types, COSCO Shipping has been the leading shipowner in container ship orders so far in 2026, placing orders for a total of 23 vessels with Jiangnan Shipyard, Wuchang Shipyard, and Zhoushan COSCO Heavy Industry.
Among COSCO Shipping’s disclosed container ship orders this year, the shipbuilding project undertaken by Jiangnan Shipyard deserves special mention. COSCO Shipping Container Lines has invested nearly RMB 16.8 billion to place an order with Jiangnan Shipyard for 12 18,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships, marking the first shipbuilding contract worth over RMB 10 billion in China’s shipbuilding industry for 2026.
Expanding its fleet, Evergreen Marine has been placing orders year after year.
As the world’s seventh-largest container shipping company, Evergreen Marine has launched new shipbuilding projects every year since 2021, with the vast majority being dual-fuel vessels.
In 2022, Evergreen Marine ordered four 24,000 TEU conventional fuel container ships from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. In 2023-2024, it ordered eight 16,000 TEU container ships from Nihon Shipyard, sixteen 16,000 TEU container ships from Samsung Heavy Industries, and six 2,400 TEU methanol dual-fuel powered container ships from Huangpu Wenchong, all equipped with methanol dual-fuel propulsion systems.
By 2025, all 25 large container ships ordered by Evergreen Marine will be equipped with LNG dual-fuel propulsion systems, representing a total investment of nearly $5.9 billion. This includes: – 7 14,000 TEU container ships and 5 24,000 TEU container ships from Guangzhou Shipyard International – 7 14,000 TEU container ships from Samsung Heavy Industries and six 24,000 TEU container ships from Hanwha Ocean.
Notably, 2025 marks the first year of collaboration between Guangzhou Shipyard International and Evergreen Marine. The total value of their joint venture—12 dual-fuel container ships of two types—could exceed $2.9 billion.
Data indicates that Evergreen Marine is one of Taiwan’s three major shipping giants and serves as the core business segment of the Evergreen Group. According to Alphaliner’s third-quarter data released last year, Evergreen ranked seventh among global liner shipping companies with a total capacity of approximately 1.936 million TEUs. This includes 236 operational vessels, comprising 159 owned ships and 77 chartered vessels.