Wan Hai Lines has ordered five 13,000TEU ships from South Korean ship builder Hyundai Heavy Industries, with negotiations for a further four vessels ongoing with other yards, said the line.
[s2If is_user_logged_in()]The Taiwanese liner operator said in a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing on 10 March 2021 that the total contract value is TW$29.25 billion (US$1.04 billion). The newbuildings are expected to be delivered in 2023.
Primarily focused on intra-Asia services, it is the first time that Wan Hai has commissioned neo-Panamax newbuildings, although the company had acquired two neo-Panamax second-hand ships from Pacific International Lines in 2020.
The neo-Panamaxes would be deployed to services calling at the US West Coast, the west coast of South America and other mid-haul trades.
Lured by soaring freight rates, Wan Hai began a solo Transpacific service, China Pacific Service 1, in July 2020 and has since extended this to four loops due to good demand.
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 329,390TEU, including 71 owned ships.
In January, the company commissioned a dozen 3,013TEU newbuildings from Japan Marine United Corporation (JMU) and Nihon Shipyard, for delivery between 2022 and 2023.
Since earmarking US$360 million to acquire second-hand ships in December 2020, Wan Hai has also purchased 11 such vessels.
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.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
[/s2If]
[s2If !is_user_logged_in()]Please login or register to read the rest of the story[/s2If]
