ContainersEurope

Maersk quietly signs for two more 15,226 teu ships

Despite preaching to its peers for restraint at Asian yards, it has emerged Maersk Line, the world’s largest containerline, has actually been adding to the global orderbook.

Clarkson Research reports that it has just come to light that the Danish carrier has extended its series of 15,226 teu containerships at Hyundai Heavy Industries by declaring an option for two additional vessels.

The units will be the tenth and eleventh units in the series, and are due to be delivered next year.

With regulatory approval coming at the end of last year for the takeover of Hamburg Sud, Maersk has extended its lead as the world’s largest liner and now stands on the cusp of having a 20% market share, something unprecedented in the history of container shipping. Alphaliner lists Maersk as having a 4.24m teu strong fleet, equivalent to a 19.5% market share. MSC, its 2M partner, lies in second place with a 14.7% market share.

 

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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