Danish tonnage provider Celsius Shipping has ordered container vessel newbuildings for the first time in its history.
Brokers reported that Celsius has contracted two 3,000 TEU ships at Penglai Zhongbai Jinglu Ship Industry, which is majority-owned by the provincial government of China’s Shandong province.
Celsius’ current boxship fleet comprises eight vessels with capacities ranging from 1,700 TEU to 4,892 TEU. Built from 2003 to 2010, the ships were all acquired second-hand in 2021, as the company joined its peers in expanding its boxship fleet to respond to growing tonnage demand, amid the red-hot container shipping market.
Celsius, which also owns tankers and bulkers, was unable to confirm the newbuilding order, while Penglai Zhongbai has not responded to Container News request at the time of writing. However, the UK-based online valuation and data provider VesselsValue has already included the newbuildings in its system.
The price of the new vessels remains undisclosed but VesselsValue assesses it to be around US$34 million per ship.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent