Hong Kong-headquartered TS Lines is expanding its fleet with two newbuildings.
The intra-Asia liner operator has contracted Japan’s Kyokuyo Shipyard to build a pair of 1,000-teu containerships.
A shipping source close to TS Lines has confirmed the order, saying the company is paying around $17m each for the ships.
TS Lines is taking advantage of low shipbuilding prices to increase its owned tonnage. TradeWinds understands the company inked the order last month and is scheduled to take delivery of the vessels in the second half of 2019.
“The special feature of the two 1,000-teu containerships that TS Lines ordered is they will be less than 10,000 gt," the source said. "This will help the company to save port charges when the vessels call at Japanese ports.”
Containership players say the company is planning to order more newbuildings and has approached shipyards for feederships of between 1,800 teu and 2,800 teu.
“The shipbuilding price is inching up and, if the price is right, TS Lines will order additional vessels," the source said. "Otherwise, it will turn to the charter market for the ships."
The last time TS Lines ordered newbuildings was two years ago, when it commissioned Taiwan’s CSBC Corp to build four 1,800-teu containerships at a reported price of $25m each.
The yard has since delivered three ships — the TS Bangkok, TS Kaohsiung and TS Tokyo (all built 2017) — and will be handing over the last vessel, to be named TS Osaka, this month.
Last September, TS Lines tapped the secondhand market and bought the Nakai-built, 2,500-teu sub-panamax boxship TS Taichung (ex-Qingdao, built 2007) from Japanese owner Doun Kisen for close to $11m — a move perceived as hedging against rising charter rates.
The ship is deployed on a South Korea-China-Indonesia service operated with three vessels supplied by South Korean operator KMTC.
TS Lines operates around 34 containerships, of which six are owned. It is operating two chartered panamaxes between China and the Middle East.
