Market demand for ultra-large container ships clearly remains unmet; a leading liner company has reportedly placed an order with a private Chinese shipbuilder for 12 such vessels.
According to shipbroker MB Shipbrokers, private Chinese shipbuilder Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has secured a contract from a major liner company to build twelve 24,000 TEU-class ultra-large container ships; neither the delivery schedule nor the contract value has been disclosed.
Based on newbuild prices released by Clarkson in early September, the cost per vessel for the 22,000–24,000 TEU class of container ships is approximately US$254 million. By this calculation, the total value of the 12 new vessels ordered from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding is around US$3 billion.
Although the delivery schedule for this specific order has not yet been disclosed, the shipbroker noted that many Chinese shipyards are already fully booked for 2029; new shipbuilding projects are currently securing slots for 2030, with some orders extending as far as 2031.
Additionally, according to official data from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, its existing orderbook extends to 2030; by comparison, the aforementioned twelve 24,000 TEU-class container ships are highly likely to be delivered around that same year.
If confirmed, this order would mark the first time since 2023—a gap of three years—that Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has secured a contract to build 24,000 TEU-class container ships; it would also be the company’s first order for large container ships with a 2026 delivery schedule. All container ship orders secured by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in the first half of this year were for small-to-medium-sized vessels, with a maximum capacity of 5,900 TEU.
In 2023, CMA CGM placed an order with Yangzijiang Shipbuilding for ten 24,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships; this was reportedly the largest single newbuild contract the shipbuilder had secured since its listing.
That order from CMA CGM made Yangzijiang Shipbuilding the first private Chinese shipbuilder to construct 24,000 TEU-class dual-fuel container ships. The first vessel CMA CGM Notre Dame, was delivered on May 15, 2026, followed by the second vessel CMA CGM Pantheon, on July 25. The delivery of the frist vessel set a new construction record for private shipbuilders in the ultra-large container ship segment.
Following a period of massive ordering in previous years, newbuild activity for ultra-large container ships was relatively sluggish in the first half of 2026. However, entering the second half of the year, several liner operators announced plans to launch fleet renewal programs involving large vessels—with intentions largely focused on Chinese shipyards. This suggests that ordering activity for large vessel types may rebound in the coming months, indicating that demand for ultra-large container ships remains robust.