A few days ago, several industry media outlets, including TradeWinds, reported that Maersk had selected Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding to build up to 24 dual-fuel, ultra-large container ships with a capacity of 24,000 TEU each. However, just as the industry awaited an official announcement of the contract, the situation has taken an unexpected turn.
According to sources, Hudong-Zhonghua has denied securing the order for these 24,000 TEU dual-fuel container ships from Maersk. It is suggested that the shipyard may be prioritizing its production capacity for LNG carriers instead. Previously, it was reported that Maersk had narrowed its list of potential shipyards for this massive order down to two: Hudong-Zhonghua and Hengli Heavy Industries. This latest development increases the likelihood that Hengli Heavy Industries could land the contract.
It is understood that Maersk is planning to build 12+12 ultra-large container ships, each with a capacity of 24,000 TEU and equipped with dual-fuel engines capable of running on liquefied natural gas (LNG). The total value of this order, including the optional vessels, is approximately $5.8 billion.
Previously, according to reports from shipbrokers, this order had sparked competition among several Chinese and South Korean shipbuilders; ultimately, the South Korean shipbuilders were successively eliminated, leaving only Hudong-Zhonghua and Hengli Heavy Industries to enter the final negotiation stage.
Hudong-Zhonghua’s exit from the project means Maersk may award this major contract to Hengli Heavy Industries. Maersk has previously commissioned Hengli Heavy Industries to build 20 19,000-TEU container ships.
If this order for 12+12 dual-fuel container ships with a capacity of 24,000 TEU is once again awarded to Hengli Heavy Industries, Maersk’s order book with Hengli Heavy Industries will increase to 32+12 vessels; including options, the total value would reach approximately $9.8 billion.
If this order for 12+12 dual-fuel container ships with a capacity of 24,000 TEU is once again awarded to Hengli Heavy Industries, Maersk’s order book with Hengli Heavy Industries will increase to 32+12 vessels; including options, the total value would reach approximately $9.8 billion.
To date, Maersk has confirmed orders for 34 large container ships this year. In addition to the 20 19,000-TEU container ships from Hengli Heavy Industries, this also includes 14 18,600-TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships from New Times Shipbuilding. The 14 new ships from New Times Shipbuilding have a total value of approximately $2.7 billion. This means Maersk has invested approximately $6.6 billion in the newbuilding market this year.
This year, Maersk has frequently announced new vessel projects, signaling that the shipping giant is adjusting its logistics integration strategy, which has been in place for a decade. Years of capacity restraint have pushed Maersk’s “existing fleet to its capacity limits.” To ensure it has the capacity needed to support business growth, Maersk has abandoned its fleet size cap and adopted an aggressive expansion strategy.
Based on Alphaliner data, Maersk currently operates more than 750 container ships with a total capacity of approximately 4.75 million TEU.