Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport has officially launched a request for offers to build five LNG dual-fuel container ship newbuildings as prices remain firm and early berth slots vanish.
The company did not specify the delivery date for the 15,000-teu newbuildings or the type of engine or tanks to be fitted.
Shipbuilding sources said Yang Ming hopes to take delivery in the first half of 2026.
Brokers think the five vessels will cost at least $900m in total, as yards are quoting more than $180m each for the ship type.
They believe major shipbuilders from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China will participate in the project, as the tender is open to international companies.
Offers are due by 6 September.
News that Yang Ming was planning to order the neo-panamax boxships emerged early this year. The board of directors gave the go-ahead in April.
By using LNG as the fuel, the company expects a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with traditional marine fuel.
“Yang Ming is fulfilling its objective on environmental sustainability while stepping up the competitive edge for the entire fleet,” it said.
Yang Ming claims to be the first company in Taiwan to own LNG-powered container ships.
It said the newbuildings are set to “strengthen the company’s mid to long-term operational competitiveness and accelerate fleet renewal plan”.
Yang Ming reported that its consolidated revenue for the second quarter amounted to TWD 109.45bn ($3.81bn), up by 49.4% from a year earlier.
After-tax net profit and earnings per share came to TWD 55.53bn and TWD 15.9 respectively.
Consolidated revenue for the first half was TWD 216.15bn, up 59.5% from the same period of 2021. The company said its business volume amounted to 2.27m teu, up 2% from the same period last year.
Yang Ming is one of the partners in THE Alliance alongside Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express (ONE) and HMM.
In May, ONE contracted Japan’s Nihon Shipyard and South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries to build five 13,700-teu boxships each. The Singapore-based company has opted for conventionally fuelled vessels fitted with scrubbers.
ONE was reported to be paying about $160m each for the neo-panamax newbuildings. It is scheduled to take delivery in 2025.
