Maersk, as the second largest container shipping company in the world, has a new program in place to order over 40 large container ships worth $8.9 billion (approximately 12 trillion won). This program, which has garnered significant attention from the shipbuilding and transportation industry, includes an order for 26 container ships of 18,000 TEU.
Order Details and Ship Features
On September 21, Maersk announced that it had placed an order for 26 container ships of 18,000 TEU on September 18. All of these ships will be equipped with dual-fuel engines capable of using liquefied natural gas (LNG) and marine fuel. The delivery time for these ships has been scheduled for 2029 and 2030.
Maersk has not yet released information about the builder that will receive this order. It is also unclear whether the entire order will be given to one shipyard or divided among several yards.
Competition Among Shipbuilders
Before placing this large order, there were rumors about Maersk's plans to order up to 42 container ships. Shipping trade media had predicted that this order would include twelve ships of 24,000 TEU, twenty-four ships of 19,000 TEU, and six ships of 18,600 TEU.
In the meantime, it was expected that the 18,600 TEU class ships would be entrusted to the Chinese builder, New Times Shipbuilding, as Maersk had ordered eight ships of this class with options for six additional ships at that yard in February.
Maersk, as the second largest company in the world based on container capacity, with ownership of 752 container ships with a capacity of 4.74 million TEU, is in fierce competition with MSC, which ranks first with a capacity of 7.42 million TEU. CMA CGM also ranks third with a capacity of 4.4 million TEU and is actively expanding its fleet.
Given recent developments, Maersk is striving to compete with rivals like CMA CGM, which is rapidly increasing its fleet, and for this reason, has turned to ordering new ships.
Developments in the Chinese Shipbuilding Industry
This year, China has accounted for over 80% of container ship construction contracts, while South Korean builders have only secured 10 to 15% of these contracts. This indicates increasing competition between Chinese and South Korean shipbuilders.
Hengli Heavy Industry secured nearly 60 container ships in the first half of this year and successfully received an order from MSC for twenty 20,000 TEU ships. The increased production capacity of Chinese builders has facilitated their competition, and many ship owners are showing a greater preference for Chinese builders who can offer earlier delivery times.
In light of these developments, it is expected that Maersk will seriously consider ordering larger ships of 19,000 to 24,000 TEU, which has drawn significant attention from the industry.
