THE global containership orderbook has surged past a new milestone, now standing at 1,712 vessels totalling 13.7m teu, equivalent to more than 40% of the current fleet, according to data from Linerlytica.
Chinese shipyards remain “dominant” in the sector, accounting for eight out of every ten ships on order, said the research firm.
Ten of the top 15 boxship-building yards globally are located in China, with the four largest builders all privately-owned Chinese shipbuilders.
The ordebook-to-fleet ratio has reached a post-2010 high, though it remains below the peak of more than 50% seen around the 2008 financial crisis.
The third quarter of this year has begun on a busy note, driven largely by a major newbuilding order from Mediterranean Shipping Co. Approximately 424,000 teu was added to the orderbook in the opening weeks of the quarter, according to broker reports.
MSC has reportedly contracted up to up to 20 LNG dual-fuelled vessels of 21,000 teu each at China's Hengli Heavy Industry, with pricing estimated at around $206m per unit and deliveries scheduled for 2029-2030.
The order underscores MSC's continued preference for ultra-large tonnage, while other carriers appear to be focusing their expansion efforts on vessels in the 10,000-15,000 teu range.
The blockbuster deal is also a testament to Hengli's meteoric rise in the shipbuilding industry. The Chinese builder only entered the market in 2023 after taking over the facilities of the bankrupt STX Dalian shipyard, but has since grown to become the second-largest builder of containerships globally.
Activity has also been evident in the feeder segment. Hong Kong-based bulker owner EGPN has made its debut in the container sector, placing its first containership newbuilding order for two 1,900 teu vessels at CSSC Wenchong, with deliveries scheduled for 2029.
Meanwhile, China Merchants Energy Shipping announced last Friday that it will build four 1,800 teu boxships at a sister company's shipyard, with delivery set for 2028.
While Chinese liners and owners have been the primary drivers of container contracting this year, brokers note that the demand picture is shifting. Activity from international liners and tonnage providers has recently picked up, buoyed by strong charter markets.
With very limited tonnage availability in 2026 and 2027, newbuilding appetite is expected to remain robust despite the transitional summer lull, one broker said.
Overcapacity fears loom
Alphaliner, however, has flagged overcapacity concerns in its latest report, particularly for the next one to two years.
In 2027 and 2028, a total of 1,000 newbuild container vessels of all sizes — representing 8.5m teu of capacity — will enter the market.
“By historical standards, this is more than four times the amount of newbuilding capacity usually joining the fleet in such a time frame,” said Alphaliner. “Unless cargo demand continues to grow strongly, vessel demolition seriously picks up and slow steaming expands, risks of severe over capacity are very real,”
A wider return of shipping lines to the Suez Canal — and the release of substantial fleet capacity due to shorter sailing distances — could prove to be the tipping point, putting both the freight and charter markets under severe stress, the consultancy cautioned.
Such a scenario would negatively impact vessel demand and dent asset values, particularly for larger vessels, it added.
