The 20-ship, $29 billion order is officially announced!
On December 2, shipping giant Maersk announced on its official website that it has placed an order for 20 dual-fuel containerships at three Chinese and Korean shipyards to carry out a fleet renewal program announced in August.
Three Chinese and Korean shipyards share the 20-ship order
Maersk has signed contracts with three Chinese and Korean shipyards for a total of 20 containerships equipped with dual-fuel engines, with a total capacity of 300,000 standard containers (TEU) for the new vessels. The orders mark the completion of Maersk's newbuilding component of its August 2024 announced fleet renewal program.
All 20 new ships will be equipped with liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel propulsion systems and will range in size from 9,000 to 17,000 TEU. The first vessels are expected to be delivered in 2028, with the last scheduled for delivery in 2030. The new vessels, when delivered in phases, will be used to replace existing capacity in Maersk's fleet.
Specifically, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding received orders for six 17,000 TEU containerships and two 9,000 TEU containerships; New Era Shipbuilding received an order for six 15,000 TEU containerships; and South Korea's Hanwha Offshore and Marine received an order for six 15,000 TEU containerships.
Maersk did not announce the cost of this batch of orders. According to previous news, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding's 17,000 TEU dual-fuel container ship single ship price is expected to be about 210 million U.S. dollars, 9,000 TEU dual-fuel container ship single ship price is expected to be about 130 million U.S. dollars. Based on this calculation, the total value of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding's eight orders is about $1.52 billion (about RMB 11.1 billion).
New Era Shipbuilding's 15,000 TEU container ship single ship price is expected to be about $200 million, with a total value of about $1.2 billion (about RMB 8.74 billion) for the six ships.
Hanwha Marine has previously announced this order. on October 10, Hanwha Marine announced that it had signed a contract with a European shipping company for six 15,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel containerships, with the price of a single ship estimated at about $208 million, and the total value of the six ships amounting to $1.25 billion (about RMB 9.1 billion). The shipowner of the order is Maersk.
The total value of this batch of 20 large orders from Maersk is about 4 billion U.S. dollars, which is about 29 billion yuan.
Chinese Shipyards Receive Back-to-Back LNG Dual-Fuel Container Ship Orders
Falling natural gas prices, lack of methanol capacity and high costs are driving major shipping giants to renew their interest in LNG fuel. Prior to this, another shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd (Hapag-Lloyd) also announced in the Chinese shipyards ordered a large number of LNG dual-fuel container ships.
In early November, Hapag-Lloyd announced on its official website that it had signed two contracts with two Chinese shipyards to build a total of 24 container ships, with a total investment of about $4 billion.
The order is also shared by two Chinese private shipbuilders, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and New Era Shipbuilding.
Among them, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding is responsible for the construction of 12 ships with specifications of 16,800 TEU for the expansion of the existing fleet. New Era Shipbuilding is building 12 vessels of 9,200 TEU to replace older vessels in the Hapag-Lloyd fleet.
The new ships are equipped with energy-efficient LNG dual-fuel engines, capable of using biomethane as fuel, and are reserved for ammonia fuel capability. Deliveries are expected to take place between 2027 and 2029, which will bring 312,000 TEU of capacity to Hapag-Lloyd.
Switching to LNG fuel? Maersk denies it
In August 2024, Maersk announced a capacity renewal program of 800,000 TEU, including 300,000 TEU newbuilds and 500,000 TEU chartered vessels. Maersk said that these orders will not increase overall capacity and that the newly introduced vessels will all replace scrapped vessels that have reached the end of their useful life to ensure that the fleet size is maintained at around 4.3 million TEU.
In addition to the 20 newbuildings mentioned above, Maersk will also charter 500,000 TEU methanol or LNG dual-fuel containerships, and according to the latest news from Maersk, the company has already finalized charter contracts with a number of shipowners. These chartered vessels will be put into service in phases to replace the existing capacity.
Maersk was once a “proponent” of methanol fuel, ordering a series of methanol-powered containerships, but due to the lack of methanol production capacity and high costs, the shipping giant chose to turn to LNG fuel in the short term.
According to some analysts, the fall in natural gas prices is the main reason for the renewed interest of global shipping companies in LNG-powered ships; green methanol (methanol made from carbon and hydrogen extracted from renewable energy sources) used as a marine fuel is currently in short supply, and according to the energy density and cost of extraction, the price of green methanol is more than three times as high as that of LNG; in contrast, LNG fuel is more sophisticated in terms of port filling facilities, and methanol is still in its infancy. Methanol, on the other hand, is still in its infancy and the related infrastructure is not well developed.
However, in early October, at the naming of the fifth methanol dual-fuel 16,000 TEU container ship “Alexandra Maersk”, a Maersk spokesman denied the rumors of “Maersk turning to LNG” and said that the recent ordering of A spokesman for Maersk denied rumors that Maersk was switching to LNG, saying that the recent order for LNG-powered vessels was not an endorsement of LNG, nor did it mean abandoning methanol.
In an August announcement, Maersk said that to ensure the long-term competitiveness of its fleet and its ability to meet its decarbonization targets, it has opted for a combination of methanol and LNG dual-fuel propulsion systems. “While green methanol may be the most competitive and scalable decarbonization pathway in the short term, Maersk also foresees a multi-fuel future for shipping, which includes liquefied biomethane.”