Evergreen Marine Corp has ordered 23 containerships from two Chinese shipyards in a newbuilding programme worth up to $1.47bn, as the Taiwanese carrier continues to expand its fleet amid strong demand for smaller vessel segments.
The Taipei-listed firm announced that its board had approved orders for 16 vessels of 3,100 teu and seven ships of 5,900 teu.
The 3,100 teu feeders will be built at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding, with each vessel priced between $46m and $56m, bringing the total contract value to between $736m and $896m.
The seven 5,900 teu mid-size ships have been placed at Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding, with unit prices ranging from $67m to $82m and a total value of $469m to $574m.
The orders extend a wave of fleet-renewal activity since last year for smaller boxships, where order-to-fleet ratios are still relatively low compared to larger vessel classes.
MB Shipbrokers noted in a recent report that “overall demand remains robust across the feeder and mid-size segments”.
The newbuilding programme also has implications for Evergreen’s ranking among global container carriers. The company currently sits seventh in the world with a fleet capacity approaching 2m teu, trailing sixth-placed Ocean Network Express by approximately 120,000 teu, according to Linerlytica.
However, with these latest orders, Evergreen’s orderbook will swell to nearly 930,000 teu, compared to ONE’s backlog of around 780,000 teu. This positions the Taiwanese carrier for potential gains in the global rankings as newbuildings deliver in the coming years.
The filings did not specify delivery dates for the vessels, stating only that payment and delivery terms would follow contract provisions.
