Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) is said to have struck a deal with China’s Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding for up to 10 Bangkokmax container ship newbuildings worth more than $300m.
Shipbuilding sources say MSC has signed up for four firm 1,800-teu newbuildings at the Chinese shipyard for delivery during the second half of 2023. The deal included options for up to six additional vessels.
The contract is the second order that MSC has penned at Fujian Mawei. Last year, it ordered two LNG dual-fuelled 3,700-teu newbuildings for 2024 delivery.
An official at Mawei confirmed MSC’s latest order but declined to disclose the price. MSC was unavailable for comment.
Shipbuilding sources said the ships will be powered by conventional marine fuel.
“These container ships will be compliant with the latest requirements of Tier III emission standards of the International Maritime Organization and Energy Efficiency Design Index Phase 3,” said a source. “MSC is likely to have paid more than $30m per ship.”
A shipbuilding source following the company’s newbuilding activities said the liner carrier initially approached Huanghai Shipbuilding in Shandong province for the series of Bangkokmaxes. It had even inked a letter of intent with the yard.
“MSC later approached Fujian Mawei for the 1,800-teu boxships and dropped Huanghai Shipbuilding,” said the source.
He believed MSC selected Fujian Mawei as it is already building two 3,700-teu vessels for the company.
MSC is very active in the newbuilding market and has built up a huge orderbook. Online database VesselsValue shows the company has 48 container ship newbuildings worth about $6.2bn on order at shipyards in China and South Korea. The vessels range from 1,800 teu to 24,000 teu.
This week, MSC was reported to have splashed out more than $2.4bn on compact neo-panamax vessels. It ordered six LNG dual-fuelled 7,900-teu ships at Hyundai Heavy Industries and 14 LNG dual-fuel, 8,000-teu boxships at China's New Times Shipbuilding.
The company was reported to have paid close to $134m each for the HHI newbuildings and more than $120m apiece for the New Times’ vessels.
MSC’s presence was also felt in the secondhand market. The company was reported to have acquired 132 secondhand ships with a total capacity of 453,000 teu in 2021.
Fujian Mawei is a provincial owned shipyard. Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network lists the shipyard with an order backlog of 53 newbuildings, the majority of which are container ships. Shipping companies that have placed boxships there include Eastern Pacific Shipping, TS Lines and Karnaphuli Group.
