Recently, although new container shipbuilding activity has slowed down, large container ship orders are still being announced one after another.
Ocean Network Express (ONE) has finalized an order with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for six 15,000 TEU LNG-fueled container ships, according to MB Shipbrokers.
The construction cost of each container ship in this batch is slightly over $200 million; based on this figure, the total value of the six new vessels exceeds $1.2 billion, and they are expected to be fully delivered by 2029.
ONE’s new container shipbuilding project has been under discussion for several months. The shipping company initially planned to invest $4.2 billion to order up to 22 large dual-fuel container ships, comprising two new ship specifications: 6+6 vessels in the 13,000 TEU class and 6+4 vessels in the 15,000 TEU class. It also planned to place separate orders for each ship type with multiple shipyards.
However, market reports last month indicated that ONE is scaling back its orders and adopting a more conservative shipbuilding strategy, with the number of large dual-fuel container ships being built—originally as many as 22—significantly reduced to just six. The large order, which had been spread across multiple shipyards, was ultimately awarded to a single shipyard. Industry analysts attribute this move to a variety of factors, including logistics disruptions caused by the situation in the Middle East, rising newbuilding prices, and the possibility of future freight rate declines.
Despite the significantly reduced order size, these six new vessels will help ONE expand its fleet of alternative fuel ships across multiple shipyards. Including the six newly finalized orders, ONE has ordered a total of 36 dual-fuel container ships from shipyards in China and South Korea since 2024: 22 13,000 TEU container ships using methanol fuel, with Jiangnan Shipyard and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding each building 11; and 14 15,000 TEU LNG fuel ships, all being built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
It is worth mentioning that the first batch of 12 13,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ships ordered by ONE from Jiangnan Shipyard (6 ships) and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (6 ships) in early 2024 is ONE’s first order of methanol dual-fuel container ships, and it is also the first time that this Japanese shipowner has placed an order for shipbuilding with a Chinese shipyard.
Recently, the enthusiasm for container ship construction has cooled significantly. Against this backdrop, Chinese shipyards have still announced several container ship orders, demonstrating their competitiveness in this ship type market.
For example, COSCO Shipping Holdings’ subsidiary Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) ordered 12 13,600 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding; China United Lines ordered 4 6,400 TEU container ships from Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding; and China Merchants Energy Shipping ordered 4 8,200 TEU methanol-reserved container ships from its affiliated shipyard, China Merchants Shipbuilding.
In the feeder container ship sector, Greece’s Euroseas placed an additional order for two 2,800-TEU container ships with Huangpu Wenchong and ordered 2+2 1,800-TEU container ships from Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co., Ltd. (CIMC SOE); China Merchants Energy Shipping has ordered four 1,800 TEU container ships from China Merchants Shipbuilding, among others.
MB Shipbrokers notes that negotiations are currently underway for several newbuilding projects involving container ships of various sizes, and more new orders are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.