Boxship giants Cosco Shipping Holdings and Hong Kong’s Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) are in discussions with Chinese shipbuilders for up to 25 neo-panamax newbuildings worth over $3bn.
Shipbuilding sources said Shanghai-based Cosco Shipping Lines is looking to order up to 10 vessels of 13,000 teu. The deal being discussed is for six firm vessels plus options of an additional four.
Sister company OOCL is said to be seeking up to 15 ships of 15,000 teu. The number of firm units the company requires has not yet been disclosed. Both companies are controlled by Cosco Shipping Holdings, which is part of state-owned giant China Cosco Shipping.
Cosco may also upsize the boxships to 15,000 teu
Yard executive
Those following the negotiations said that if Cosco Shipping and OOCL order up to 25 neo-panamaxes, the newbuilding contracts will be worth more than $3bn since shipyards are quoting between $120m and $125m apiece for conventionally fuelled containerships of 13,000 teu.
An OOCL spokesman said: “We cannot comment on market rumours. In line with our consistent and established direction of measured and intelligent growth, we will continue to monitor the needs of our group in terms of vessels, container boxes or indeed any other capital expenditure that may be necessary."
Cosco Shipping was not available for comment.
Shipbuilding sources said the Cosco Shipping Heavy Industry yard in Yangzhou, China, and a few state-owned facilities under the umbrella of China State Shipbuilding Corp are holding newbuilding discussions with Cosco Shipping and OOCL.
A shipyard executive confirmed receiving Cosco Shipping and OOCL’s newbuilding enquiries.
“Cosco [Shipping] and OOCL are both under [the] Cosco group but they operate independently," the yard executive said. “Their containership newbuilding enquires are also independent from each other.”
He said Cosco Shipping has been in contact with shipyards for some time.
The Chinese liner giant was initially seen enquiring for dual-fuel vessels that can run on conventional fuel and LNG. But the company is said to have changed its mind and is looking at conventionally fuelled ships that will be fitted with scrubbers.
“Cosco may also upsize the boxships to 15,000 teu,” added the yard executive. “The company is seeking its board approval in ordering the new ships.”
He said OOCL has not indicated the number of firm vessels that it will be ordering but the newbuilding discussions with shipyards are progressing faster than Cosco’s.
“This could be due to the fact that OOCL is a leaner company and has less [red tape] in the organisation," the yard chief said.
Shipbuilding sources said enquiries for containership newbuildings continue to be strong.
They said some shipyards such as Singapore-listed Yangzijiang Shipbuilding lack the capacity to take in more contracts for large boxships as their 2024 building slots are sold out.
Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network detailed that 102 neo-panamax containerships and 29 ultra-large boxships of 24,000 teu were ordered between last October and the end of last month.
New York-listed Seaspan Corp topped the chart with the largest orderbook. It has signed up for a total of 31 newbuildings at shipyards in China and South Korea.
