Container ships have been the “darlings” of the new building market. In its latest weekly report, shipbroker Banchero Costa said that “containerships orders still dominate the newbuilding market.
The main players in the container field are taking massive action to book slots and renew or expand their trading fleet. Over 50 orders have been placed in different segments, from feeders to larger ships. MSC, besides being the largest owner of containers, is contributing with more than 25 NB orders (still to be identified), and other major players like Maersk and Hapag Lloyd are said to be looking at placing similar numbers and more. This week, Maersk took the stage.
The Danish giant is rumoured to have signed a contract with the Korean yard Hanwha Ocean to construct 6 +4 16.000 teu. The price reported for each vessel was around $220 mln, while deliveries for the firm ships are expected in 2027. Maersk was also rumoured to have booked another 16.000 teu at Chinese yards: letters of intent were signed at New Times for 6 + 6 units for delivery in 2028, and Yangzijiang for 6 + 4 units for delivery in 2027.
The Danish Owner was rumoured to be in the market for up to 62 vessels among Korean and Chinese yards. All the vessels will be propelled by dual-fuel LNG. Pacific International Lines signed an order for 5 x 13.000 teu DF LNG at Hudong Zhonghua for deliveries from the end of 2026 through 2027. The price per ship was reported to be in the region of $190 mln.
Meanwhile, in the S&P market, Banchero Costa added that “in the dry market, the Japanese-controlled Cape Azalea 206.000 dwt 2012-built NACKS was sold to Chinese buyers at region $39 mln. After offers were invited last week, the scrubber-fitted Elsa S 81,000 dwt 2015 JMU was committed in excess of $30 mln.
The Dolphin57 Sania 57,000 dwt 2010-built Qingshan was reported at $12.3 mln to Chinese Buyers waiving inspection. A few weeks ago, the Seacon Yantai 57,000 dwt 2010-built COSCO was done at $13.8 mln. In the tanker market, 9 scrubber-fitted VLCCs changed hands from Capital to Bahri for around $1 bln. The shipbroker concluded that most of the nine unnamed vessels were built in South Korea and had an average of 5.9 years of age.”
Source: Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide
