Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation (Yang Ming), the world’s 10th largest liner operator and the second largest in Taiwan, China, announced that it has entered into an agreement with Japanese owner Shoei Kisen for the purchase of three newbuildings of 8,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel powered container ships.
Currently, three new ships are being built in Japan’s largest shipbuilding group Imabari Shipbuilding, and are expected to be delivered in 2028 and 2029. The total value of the transaction is between US$339 million and US$360 million, and the value of each ship is between US$113 million and US$120 million.
At the end of 2024, Yang Ming announced that it will introduce up to 13 new container ships in the 8,000 TEU to 15,000 TEU class to replace the 5,500 TEU to 6,500 TEU class series of container ships in its fleet that are more than 20 years old.
Yang Ming said, “The three 8,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel powered container ships currently under construction at Imabari Shipbuilding are the first phase of the company’s fleet renewal program, and the remainder will be carried out in accordance with the internal procurement process in order to ensure the stability of the fleet in the medium to long term and to maintain the quality of service.”
Excluding the three ships under construction at Imabari Shipbuilding, Yang Ming owns nearly 100 ships, of which 59 are owned ships. And 5 new 15,500TEU container ships will be delivered in 2026 by HD Hyundai Heavy Industry. The single ship cost US$189.32 million and the total order value is US$946.62 million.
Since May 2023 (i.e., ordered for 5 new ships with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries), Yang Ming has not signed a new shipbuilding contract, but is committed to gradually expanding the fleet through the second-hand ship market.