Wan Hai Lines has ordered a dozen 3,013TEU newbuildings from the Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) and Nihon Shipyards the company reported on 25 January.
[s2If is_user_logged_in()]The Taiwanese carrier, which focuses on the intra-Asia trades, said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange that the decision to commission newbuildings was taken after considering its current fleet size and future business growth.
The total newbuilding contract value is US$565.2 million. Delivery dates for the newbuildings were not disclosed, but it takes around two years for shipyards to complete a vessel.
Nihon Shipyard, a joint venture between Japan’s two largest shipbuilders, JMU and Imabari Shipbuilding, was launched on 5 January, after anti-trust approval was obtained.
JMU is still building four 3,000TEU ships that Wan Hai had ordered in 2018; these vessels are scheduled for delivery this year. Wan Hai will also take delivery of six 2,038TEU newbuildings from Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard this year, and another six similar units from the same shipyard in 2022.
Like its peers, Wan Hai, now the eleventh largest liner operator, is expanding its fleet with newbuildings and second-hand ship purchases, amid record-high freight rates. The company’s capacity totals 332,998TEU, including 69 owned ships.
Further to this, the filing stated that the total price Wan Hai will pay for 50,000TEU in a mix of containers is US$141.73 million.
In December 2020, Wan Hai earmarked US$360 million to buy second-hand ships and so far, the company has purchased seven vessels.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent[/s2If]
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