Container Shipping Quarterly

Special Report

Newbuild orders to pour tonnage into all east-west lanes

By Keith Wallis

Three major container carriers— Yang Ming, Cosco Shipping and Maersk— have put in new orders to expand and renew their fleets, betting on demand growth as they reinvest their post-pandemic profits.

The newbuilding orders are slated for delivery between 2028 to 2030, they all share an LNG dual-fuel energy profile and all focus on long-haul trades. They also add to an already record amount of capacity set to hit the water over the next few years.

Yang Ming’ s orders, worth up to $ 1.2 billion, consist of six 13,650-TEU LNG dual-fuel, ammonia-ready container ships, to be built by South Korean shipyard Hanwha Ocean at a cost of between $ 185 million and $ 204 million per ship, the carrier said in a statement. This extends Yang Ming’ s newbuild order backlog to 24 vessels totaling 318,500 TEUs. The new ships will serve east-west services.

Yang Ming’ s new orders add 18 vessels it already has in queue comprising seven 16,000-TEU and five 15,500-TEU LNG-powered ships and six 8,000-TEU methanol-ready dual-fuel ships. In the statement, the carrier did not rule out further newbuild orders.

Meanwhile Cosco Shipping said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange it will spend nearly $ 3 billion on 18 new container ships ordered from two Chinese shipbuilders: 12 22,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships costing $ 2.7 billion from Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, and six 3,200-TEU wide-beam feeder ships from CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding costing $ 300 million.

The deals come as the carrier revealed its net profit increased about 25 % year over year to $ 1.1 billion in the second quarter on stronger freight rates and higher volumes, up from $ 871 million in the first quarter and $ 875 million a year earlier.

Cosco said the new ships, together with 82 vessels already on order, will take its total fleet to more than 5.3 million TEUs. The carrier had a combined fleet of 606 ships totaling 3.7 million TEUs of capacity at the end of July. Prior to these orders Cosco had capacity on order equivalent to 41 % of its in-service fleet.

Maersk’ s orders, which remain to be confirmed, are worth approximately $ 9 billion and consist of up to 42 container ships. These include the 12 24,000-TEU vessels, plus contracts for 24 19,000-TEU and six 18,600-TEU ships, according to shipbroking and shipbuilder sources quoted by Tradewinds. The deal for the 19,000-TEU vessels would comprise a firm order for 12 ships, plus options for a further 12, according to the report.

The 24,000-TEU vessels will be deployed on Gemini Cooperation’ s Asia – Europe services, according to TradeWinds, a trade in which Maersk is seen to have lost a competitive advantage to alliance partner Hapag-Lloyd and rivals Ocean Network Express and CMA CGM, which have deployed ultra-large container ships on the lane.

Together, the new orders would increase Maersk’ s capacity by almost 750,000 TEUs to 5.5 million TEUs, a move that would smash through its long-held, selfimposed ceiling of maintaining total fleet capacity at between 4 million and 4.4 million TEUs. The carrier currently has 4.36 million TEUs of capacity in service, according to Sea-web, a sister company of the Journal of Commerce within S & P Global.

Maersk has a long-standing policy of not commenting on media reports, but the carrier said during its second-quarter earnings results that it would ensure it has“ the capacity to grow.”

The newbuilds brings the global container ship order book to 13.7 million TEUs, according to Sea-web, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S & P Global.

email: keithwallis @ hotmail. com

Yang Ming, Cosco and Maersk’ s new orders add 48 ships to an already record order book. CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images

16 Journal of Commerce | October 5, 2026 www. joc. com