Foreign media reported that Chartworld Shipping, a Greek shipping company controlled by the Kollakis family, is discussing new container ship order with Chinese shipbuilders, marking the shipowner’s return to the new shipbuilding market after four years.
Chartworld has reportedly signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Hengli Heavy Industries for the construction of four 4,300 TEU container ships. Chartworld has been seeking this size of container ship in the newbuilding market for some time and has been in discussions with shipbuilders such as Heng Li Heavy Industries.
Currently, Chartworld is actively modernizing its fleet through the newbuilding and second-hand vessel markets in a variety of sectors. Data from the shipbuilding platform shows that Chartworld currently has four vessels under construction, including two Ultramax bulk carriers and two MR product tankers, all being built in China and scheduled for delivery in 2026.
Not long ago, Chartworld has sold four 3,650 TEU container ships built in 2010 to French container shipping and logistics giant CMA CGM, a move in line with its ongoing fleet renewal strategy.
It is worth noting that the last time Chartworld placed an order in the container ship sector was in 2021. At that time, Chartworld commissioned New Times Shipbuilding to build four 13,000 TEU class container ships. Subsequently, Chartworld resold two of them to German liner giant Hapag-Lloyd, and the other two signed long-term charters with Hapag-Lloyd, and the two that have not yet been resold have been completed and delivered.
According to the shipping data platform, the current fleet of Chartworld, which was founded in 1999, consists of more than 40 vessels covering bulk carriers, tankers, container ships and reefer vessels.
Shipbroker MB Shipbrokers stressed in its latest weekly report that the market has strong interest in newbuildings of all sizes, especially in the feeder container ship sector. Analysts noted: “Several shipowners are negotiating 2,800TEU container ships, and more letters of intent and firm orders are expected to be seen in the coming weeks.”
Greek shipowners are now returning to the container newbuilding market, with well-known shipowners such as Danaos Corp, Navios Maritime Partners, Capital-Executive Ship Management and Euroseas among the most active in this sector.