Maersk has announced it has signed agreements with three yards for a total of 20 container vessels equipped with LNG dual-fuel engines.
The contracts form part of the container shipping giant’s fleet expansion plans, detailed in August, in which the company announced it had ordered a total of 50-60 vessels totalling 800,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units). The announcement was met with surprise in some quarters of the shipping industry, with Maersk having previously ruled out investing in LNG-fuelled vessels.
‘We are pleased to have signed agreements for 20 vessels and thereby completed the acquisition of 300,000 TEU capacity as announced in August,’ said Anda Cristescu, Head of Chartering & Newbuilding at Maersk. ‘These orders are a part of our ongoing fleet renewal program and in line with our commitment to decarbonisation, as all the vessels will have dual-fuel engines with the intent to operate them on lower emissions fuel.’
The 20 ships will vary in size from 9,000 to 17,000 TEU. Specifically, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding will build two 9,000 TEU vessels and six 7,000 TEU at vessels; while Hanwha Ocean, South Korea and New Times Shipbuilding, China, will each build six 15,000 TEU ships.
‘Due to their different sizes, the vessels will be able to fill many roles and functions within our future network and give us a lot of deployment flexibility when they are ready to enter our fleet,’ said Anda Cristescu, Chartering & Newbuilding at Maersk. ‘Once phased in, they will replace existing capacity in our fleet.’
The first vessels will be delivered in 2028, and the last delivery will take place in 2030.
As previously reported, Maersk’s August fleet update further announced the intention to charter a range of methanol and liquefied gas dual-fuel vessels totalling 500,000 TEU capacity. The Copenhagen-headquartered company confirmed it has now finalised these charter contracts across several tonnage providers, and that when phased in, the charter vessels will replace existing capacity.
