Tonnage providers Danaos Shipping and Asiatic Lloyd have ordered up to six 7,100 TEU ships at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company (DSIC).
DSIC announced that Greece’s Danaos, whose CEO is John Coustas, had made firm orders for two vessels on 11 March, with options for another two ships.
Danaos, the world’s largest independent owner of container ships, has a 71-vessel fleet with ships ranging from 2,200 to 13,100 TEU.
It is the first time that Danaos, whose last newbuilding orders were in September 2007, has commissioned newbuildings at DSIC. Even as many liner operators and tonnage providers rushed to order newbuildings amid the firming container freight market, Danaos had held back until last week, although the company had acquired six 5,466 TEU ships from Peter Dohle, Offen and OCM Luxembourg in late 2021.
The company’s order at DSIC was made just days after Asiatic Lloyd, a subsidiary of Germany’s AL Maritime Holdings, ordered two similar ships at the yard, increasing its own orders there to six vessels.
Deliveries are expected in 2024; Asiatic Lloyd’s earlier orders are scheduled for completion in 2023.
The newbuilding prices were not disclosed, but are estimated at around US$130 million each, according to VesselsValue.
There has been a surge in orders for such vessel sizes in recent weeks, as such ships are suitable for mid-haul routes like the East Asia-Persian Gulf lane.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
