Wan Hai Lines appears to still be keen on further acquisitions from the secondhand containership market after unveiling fresh spending plans.
The world’s 10th largest liner operator has said it plans to spend a further $320m on such vessels, according to a regulatory announcement.
The Taipei-based shipowner has now committed more than $520m to vessel acquisitions in the past two months after announcing a pledge to spend $200m on more ships in early November.
Cash-rich Wan Hai has been among the most proactive liner companies when it comes to secondhand vessel acquisitions.
Just last week, the company confirmed it was buying two 1,774-teu containerships (both built 2021) for $39m each from Singapore-based Sinou Shipping and Germany’s Bremen Trader Shipping.
Since the start of the year, Wan Hai has acquired about 12 vessels from 1,800 teu through to 8,500 teu.
The company is also busy on the newbuilding front, where it has placed orders for 24 feeder ships of 3,000 teu at Nihon Shipyard in Japan.
The company had a total of 39 vessels of 203,444 teu on order as of the beginning of November 2021, according to figures from Clarksons.
Wan Hai currently owns a fleet of 100 ships of 301,552 teu, excluding newbuildings, and charters in a further 64 vessels of 149,000 teu.
In mid-November, the company reported a third-quarter profit of NTD 35.5bn ($1.26bn) versus the NTD 1.8bn seen a year earlier, according to a statement to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
