News / Box ship shopping spree goes on – orderbook hits new record

The containership order book now stands at a new record of 11.25m teu, after liner operators and tonnage providers commissioned more newbuildings over the past week.

South Korea’s flagship carrier, HMM, finalised orders for a dozen 13,800 teu ships this week, with the HD Hyundai shipbuilding group to construct eight and Hanwha Ocean the other four.

HD Hyundai said two of the eight ships assigned to it will be built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, while HD Hyundai Samho will build the other six.

The vessels built by HD HHI are priced at $181.7m each, while those constructed by HD Hyundai Samho are priced at $181.3m each. The price difference is probably due to the early delivery date HMM secured for the two HHI vessels of July 2028. HD Hyundai Samho offered delivery in April 2029.

Hanwha Ocean’s newbuilds will be ready by February 2029, costing $182.9m.

The newbuilding commissions are part of HMM’s plan to grow its container ship fleet to 1.5m teu by 2030.

Newcomer operator Kawa Shipping, reportedly owned by Turkish and UAE interests, has ordered three 4,600 teu ships at China’s Hengli Heavy Industry for delivery in 2028. Each is priced at around $80m.

Kawa, which had primarily relied on chartered vessels and purchased second-hand ships after launching in November 2024, ordered newbuildings for the first time the following month, booking three 4,800 teu ships at China’s Wuhu Shipyard for delivery in 2027.

Kawa focuses on services connecting the Far East and the Middle East, but has a standalone China-Germany shuttle service, and in March, stretched its portfolio to the Red Sea, Egypt, and Turkey with an Eastern Mediterranean Express service.

Finally, John Coustas’s Danaos has turned its attention to feeder vessels, contracting six 1,800 teu ships at CIMC Sinopacific in China, for delivery between 2027 and 2029. Four have been fixed on 10-year charters with an undisclosed liner operator.

MB Shipbrokers said ordering activity – and underlying demand – remained firm, with Chinese feeder builders facing high interest for the remaining 2028 delivery slots.

On the Danaos order, the Danish brokerage opined that there was a growing trend among liner operators to secure efficient feeder ships for long-term fleet planning.