by Lloyd's List
CHINA is cementing its share of the global containership orderbook, with almost three quarters of boxship capacity on order currently assigned to Chinese shipbuilders.
According to Alphaliner, the backlog of orders for new containerships has reached record levels and is now well in excess of 10 m teu, representing some 31.1% of fleet capacity in service. The vast majority has been ordered in Asia.
While a few notable orders have gone to shipyards outside of East Asia these have mainly been driven by geopolitical considerations, domestic policies, or unique national requirements like the US Jones Act.
“Today, shipyards from only three nations in East Asia account for 98.5% of all new capacity on order,” noted Alphaliner.
Chinese shipbuilders have won the majority of orders in 2025, which have boomed since the second quarter, as container line operators continue to invest in updating their respective fleets.
Analysis by Alphaliner shows that China now has a market share of 73.7% of capacity on order, representing 7.36 m teu.
This is followed by South Korea with a 20.5% share, provided by 2.04 m teu of slot capacity and Japan with 4.3% of capacity provided by 430,000 teu.
“A mere 29 newbuildings from the global pipeline will come from a handful of yards outside the ‘Big three’ countries,” noted Alphaliner.
Taiwan’s CSBC shipyard at Kaohsiung is currently the only significant builder of containerships outside of the ‘Big three’ shipbuilding nations.
It has an order in hand for 12 methanol dual-fuel containerships for compatriot shipowner Wan Hai Lines, which were ordered in August 2024. Options for a further four ships have been arranged as part of the newbuilding contract.
Alphaliner notes that traditionally, Taiwanese container lines Evergreen, Yang Ming and Wan Hai Lines were the main supporters of CSBC. But geopolitical considerations often prompted the three shipowners to spread newbuilding orders between Chinese, Japanese and Taiwanese yards.
Evergreen itself is understood to be about to sign shipbuilding contracts for a new series of neo-panamax containerships.
According to brokers, the world’s seventh-largest container line is set to order a total of 14 liquefied natural gas dual-fuel, 14,000 teu boxships soon.
The order is expected to be divided equally between the China State Shipbuilding Corp-controlled Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) and South Korean shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries.
Evergreen has existing relationships with both shipbuilders. In February, the company contracted five 24,000 teu boxships at GSI, while Samsung has delivered 54 containerships, of between 8,500 teu and 24,000 teu, to Evergreen since 2012.
Evergreen has a relatively small share of China-built containerships compared to its competitors, ordering its first new tonnage in China only in 2019.
With their ability to construct large containerships on schedule at competitive prices, and most yards having the financial backing of their respective governments, containership owners have few reasons to order vessels other than at East Asian shipyards.
“In many cases, there are specific reasons why containerships were ordered from yards outside the ‘Big three’ shipbuilding nations,” noted Alphaliner.
Despite a good track record in building medium-sized ships across several sectors, only one shipyard in Türkiye has containerships on order.
Compatriot liner operator Turkon Line ordered two 4,000 teu containerships at the Sedef shipyard in 2023, which are due to be delivered in 2026. Both companies are owned by the conglomerate Kalkavan Group which may have swayed the decision to order the vessels locally.
Nevertheless, the same shipyard won an order last year for two 650 teu methanol dual-fuel feeder vessels from Netherlands-headquartered A2B-online.
The Indian shipbuilding industry is poised to become an alternative to East Asian shipyards with state-owned Cochin Shipyard advancing its first containership order, which was placed by Samskip in 2023.
Two 730 teu vessels are due to be delivered to the Dutch shortsea operator in 2026, which feature cutting-edge hybrid battery propulsion systems.
French container shipping giant CMA CGM confirmed earlier this month that it has signed a letter of intent with the same shipyard for six LNG dual-fuel containerships, each with a capacity of 1,700 teu.
The Indian government has vowed to strengthen the country’s maritime industry, and Cochin Shipyard’s entry into boxship construction reflects a broader push to develop the nation’s merchant shipbuilding sector into a global player.
The only other notable containerships on order outside of East Asia are a trio of 3,600 teu gas-fuelled ships contracted by Jones Act carrier Matson from HanwhaPhilly Shipyard.
HanwhaPhilly Shipyard — formerly Philly Shipyard before its recent acquisition by South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean — will construct the vessels, which were priced at around five times more than comparable China-built vessels, at its Philadelphia facility.
“Yards in the US have the capacity to produce large mainline containerships, but at a multiple of the cost of building in the Far East, American yards are not even remotely competitive on price.” said Alphaliner.
While several US shipyards are equipped to build commercial containerships, most are heavily committed to fulfilling navy contracts.
While Matson’s order stands out, Alphaliner notes that US-built containerships are likely to remain a rare breed in global liner trades for the foreseeable future, despite moves by the US government to encourage more domestic merchant vessel construction.
Matson’s decision to build domestically is driven by its Jones Act obligations, which require ships serving US domestic routes to be built in the United States and crewed by Americans.
The handful of orders which have gone to shipyards in Taiwan, Türkiye, India, and the US are expected to remain the exception rather than the rule.
Unless financial incentives and industrial capabilities in other regions evolve significantly, Asia, and especially China, will continue to dominate the global containership market for the foreseeable future.
