China’s BAL Container Line is said to be the latest company to join the red-hot container ship market with an order for up to four 14,000-teu vessels worth close to $600m in total.
Shipbuilding sources said the Hong Kong-registered but Shanghai-based liner company has struck a deal with Jiangnan Shipyard for two firm vessels with options for an additional pair of ships.
The sources estimated that the company is paying between $140m and $150m per conventionally fuelled vessel, which includes the cost of scrubbers.
Officials at Jiangnan declined to comment on the shipyard’s newbuilding activities citing contract confidentiality, while a BAL executive said he was not told of the order.
BAL is a subsidiary of Shandong Lcang International Logistics (Lcang Group), which is owned by businessman Xu Xin, also known as Tim Xu.
Lcang Group is listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange. The company’s business includes liner operations, supply chain management, container leasing and e-commerce.
BAL was incorporated in 2012 as a near-sea liner operator. The company offered its trade services by purchasing container slots on Emirates Shipping Line’s GALEX service, which serves the East Asia-Middle East route and Sinokor Merchant Marine’s CSC service, which serves the China-India route.
Attracted by the high container freight rates, BAL expanded its service routes last year to include the transpacific and Asia-Europe trade lanes.
In May 2021, the company was reported to have started a new trade loop that sails between China and the US West Coast, deploying Lomar Shipping’s 2,190-teu Queen Esther (built 2016).
BAL was reported to have fixed the boxship from the London-based Greek owner for 60 to 109 days at $35,000 per day.
Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network (SIN) lists BAL with a fleet of six container vessels of between 706 teu and 1,618 teu.
Shipping sources said neo-panamax container ships of between 12,000 teu and 16,000 teu are popular with liner companies, as the ship type can be deployed on almost all trade routes.
Last month, Singapore-based Ocean Network Express (ONE) made its debut in the shipowning arena with orders for 10 conventionally-fuelled neo-panamax boxship newbuildings.
The company ordered five 13,700-teu vessels each at Japan’s Nihon Shipyard and South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).
The ammonia/methanol-ready container ships were reported to have costs ONE about $160m each. Nihon and HHI are slated to deliver the newbuildings in 2025.
Other shipping companies that have ordered neo-panamax vessels included Wan Hai Lines, Regional Container Line, Cosco Shipping, AP Moller-Maersk and several others.
Clarksons’ SIN states the current orderbook of neo-panamax container ship newbuildings to be 227 units.
