Taiwanese shipyard CSBC Corp is building its own series of large feeder boxships after missing out on last year's order spree.
Brokers list four 2,800-teu vessels due for delivery in January, March, April and June 2023 for its own account. No value has been revealed.
Consultancy Alphaliner said CSBC was one of the few major shipyards that did not capitalise on the container ship order rush last year.
The yard's only other vessel listed as on order is a heavylift unit due in October, again for its own account.
Alphaliner said the "speculative" boxships could eventually be chartered out or sold opportunistically.
A once prolific shipyard
"CSBC, once a prolific builder of container ships in the size range from 1,800 [teu] to 15,000 teu, had been strangely absent from the list of yards that scored fresh boxship orders in 2021," the company said.
The group’s Kaohsiung yard delivered its last container ship in September 2021.
The YM Cooperation completed a series of 10 vessels of 2,940 teu each for Taiwanese owner Yang Ming Marine Transport.
Technical specifications of the new series have not been disclosed, but the type will likely be similar to the 20 midsize "regional" ships that CSBC built for Evergreen and Yang Ming from 2017 to 2020.
These vessels of around 2,900 teu were 210 metres long.
CSBC has been contacted for comment.
The latest order of comparable ships came from TS Lines of Taiwan in December.
Mawei Shipbuilding in China is constructing two 2,900-teu feeders for delivery in 2024.
