Hapag-Lloyd has taken its ultra-large containership orderbook to nearly $2bn by exercising options at a South Korean shipyard.
The German liner operator added another six 23,000-teu vessels at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, according to shipbuilding sources.
A spokesperson for the Hamburg-based company confirmed the order, but declined to give details of the price.
Officials at DSME declined to comment on the shipyard’s newbuilding activities, citing contract confidentiality.
However, in a regulatory filing on Monday, DSME disclosed it received an order for six boxships worth $1bn from a European company. It did not disclose the buyer’s name but added that the sextet will be delivered by the end of 2024.
Options exercised
Shipbuilding sources said the six boxship newbuildings represent options held when it ordered an earlier sextet late last year, which means the company now has 12 vessels under construction at DSME.
Those earlier vessels were believed to cost about $165m each. They are due to roll out of the dry dock between April and December 2023.
Hapag-Lloyd’s newbuildings will be fitted with high-pressure, dual-fuel engines.
They will operate on LNG, but have sufficient alternative tank capacity to operate on conventional marine fuels.
Shipbuilding sources said DSME approached Hapag-Lloyd to seek a price increase on the optional ships, due to a rise in the cost of steel plate. But the shipyard’s request was unsuccessful.
Rising steel costs are hitting shipbuilders across Asia's main newbuilding markets.
At the end of last year, South Korean yards were said to be paying about $600 per tonne for steel plate but this has since shot up to $1,000 per tonne.
“The creditors of DSME are not happy that the option vessels have been exercised,” said a shipbuilding player with knowledge on the deal. “This will be loss-making project unless the price of steel plate drops in the near future.”
Hapag-Lloyd is the fifth-largest liner company. It operates its services as a member of THE Alliance together with partners Japan's Ocean Network Express, Taiwanese operator Yang Ming Line and HMM of South Korea.
The 23,000-teu containership newbuildings will be deployed on the trades between Asia and Europe in the services of THE Alliance.
Syndicated green loan
The six additional ships have been financed via a syndicated green loan of $852m that has a maturity of 12 years from the date of delivery.
The credit is being backed by the Korea Trade Insurance Corp (K-Sure). The syndicate consists of 10 banks.
“With this investment in the additional newbuildings, we want to take another step in the ongoing modernisation of our fleet — in terms of both ship size and sustainability,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, chief executive of Hapag-Lloyd.
“At the same time, we want to meet the persistently high demand and reduce our slot costs.”
According to London broker Clarksons, there are currently 52 ULC newbuildings, excluding Hapag-Lloyds’ latest six vessels, under construction at shipyards in Japan, South Korea and China.
Shipping companies that have ordered the giant boxships include Evergreen Marine, OOCL, and Shoei Kisen Kaisha.
