With another wave of “orders,” the volume of container ship orders has once again hit a historic record!
On Feb. 12, China’s Taiwan-based container shipping company Evergreen made an announcement that it has confirmed an order for eleven 24,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel ultra-large container ships at a Chinese shipyard and a Korean shipyard, with a total value of up to US$3.245 billion (about RMB 23.6 billion).
Among them, Evergreen ordered five new ships in Guangzhou Shipbuilding International (GSI), with the price of a single ship ranging from US$265 million to US$295 million, and the total price ranging from US$1.325 billion to US$1.475 billion; and it ordered six new ships in Hanwha Ocean, with the price of a single ship ranging from US$265 million to US$295 million, and the total price ranging from US$1.59 billion to US$1.77 billion.
According to previous news, Evergreen placed orders for 24 16,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel container ships at Samsung Heavy Industries and Nihon Shipyard in mid-2023, and has not ordered any large or ultra-large container ships since.
It is noteworthy that Evergreen has reverted to LNG fuel for this order, abandoning the methanol fuel it adopted in the previous two years. This indicates that the liner giant has reconsidered its fuel strategy and opted for a more stable fuel transition program.
Driven by the industry boom, liner giants have been placing “crazy” orders in recent years. Just past 2024, the new container ship orders amounted to 4.4 million TEU, reached the second highest level ever; global order book reached 8.3 million TEU, a new high.
The year 2025 has just begun and the boom in container ship orders continues. With the signing of the latest orders, the global container ship order book is expected to exceed 9 million TEU, setting a new record.
In terms of large and ultra-large container ships, France’s CMA CGM is about to place orders for another batch of new ships after signing a contract with South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for 12 18,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships. According to Alphaliner, CMA CGM is about to finalize a contract for another 12 new 18,000 TEU ships from a shipyard under China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
In addition, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd has signed a letter of intent with Hanwha Ocean to order six 16,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships with a number of option ships. In order to grab this order, Hanwha Ocean quoted a lower price than Chinese shipyard – the unit price is only US$ 200 million, while Chinese shipyard’s price is about US$ 210 million.
MB Shipbroking reported that many projects are still under negotiation and some orders are expected to be finalized in the next few weeks. The shipbroker said: “Due to the weakening demand for tankers, gas carriers and bulk carriers, several large shipbuilders are now paying close attention to container ship projects. Therefore, the current container ship construction prices have stabilized and payment terms have been relaxed.”