Market sources report that Greek shipowner Danaos Corporation has placed an order with Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, for two 9,200-TEU container ships. The construction cost per vessel is approximately $109 million, bringing the total cost for the two new ships to about $218 million. Delivery is scheduled for early 2029.
Additionally, Danaos has recently ordered two more vessels of the same type from Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. These newbuilds will be powered by conventional fuels and equipped with scrubbers; they are also designed with the flexibility for future retrofitting to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) or methanol. Information regarding the classification society has not yet been disclosed.
According to reports, Danaos is one of the world’s largest independent container ship owners, chartering its vessels to several major global liner companies under long-term fixed-rate contracts.
Based on the fleet list on the official website, Danaos’s active fleet currently consists of 78 container ships and 11 Capesize bulk carriers. The container ships have capacities ranging from 2,200 TEU to 13,100 TEU, while the bulk carriers consist of vessels with capacities of 175,500 DWT and 182,400 DWT.
Including these new orders, Danaos has ordered a total of 41 new vessels since 2022, comprising 37 container ships and 4 Newcastlemax bulk carriers, with a total investment of approximately $3.2 billion. In addition, Danaos is the preferred shipowner for the Alaska LNG project and will provide up to 10 LNG carriers for the project.
Regarding newbuilds, all of Danaos’s current vessel orders are being constructed by Chinese shipyards, with deliveries scheduled between 2027 and 2029. The container ship newbuild projects are being undertaken by shipyards including Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC), CSSC Huangpu Wenchong, China Merchants Shipbuilding Industry Group Qingdao Shipyard, Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co., Ltd (CIMC SOE), and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, while all bulk carrier newbuild projects have been contracted to Panjin Dajin.