Huge containership orders show no signs of easing, despite the recent slide in earnings for global liners.
According to Maersk Broker, Taiwan’s Evergreen has released a tender for twenty-four 16,000 teu methanol dual fuel ships, spending some of the billions it has earned over the past couple of years.
Shipyards have until May 17 to submit bids with the Danish broker suggesting each unit will likely cost $180m.
“Given the limited availability of slots within 2026, it is likely the order may be divided among several yards, with the top three Korean yards considered the frontrunners for the project,” Maersk Broker stated in its latest container market weekly report, adding that upon conclusion of the contracts, Evergreen plans to launch another tender for a large series of 3,000 teu vessels.
During the last 10 quarters, 8.61m teu worth of containerships have been contracted globally, matching the level contracted during the preceding 30 quarters, according to new data from shipping organisation BIMCO.
The orderbook has now increased for 10 straight quarters, reaching a new record high in each of the last four quarters, and at 7.54m teu it now equals 28.9% of the existing fleet, with BIMCO, having taken scrapping into account, predicting the global box fleet will shortly exceed 30m teu for the first time, up 16% compared to today.
