News / Evergreen leads latest box ship shopping spree

Newbuilding orders this week continue to be dominated by mid-sized vessels, as regional trades grow in importance.

Taiwanese shipping line Evergreen announced on Tuesday it had ordered 16 3,100 teu ships and seven 5,900 teu ships.

Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding, part of the Singapore-listed Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, has been assigned the 5,900 teu vessels, while CSSC Huangpu Wenchong, part of China State Shipbuilding, will build the 3,100 teu ships.

The 3,100 teu ships are priced at $46m to $56m each, and the 5,900 teu vessels are $67m to $82m. The total contract value is between $1.2bn and $1.47bn, with the new ships expected to be delivered between 2028 and 2029.

The Taiwanese line has also splashed out $209m on 42,000 dry containers and 16,000 reefers, ordered from Evergreen Heavy Industrial (Malaysia), Guangdong Fuwa Engineering, and Dong Fang International.

Evergreen’s orderbook now stands at 76 vessels, amounting to 927,100 teu – the fourth-largest among the lines, behind MSC, CMA CGM and Cosco.

According to Linerlytica, Evergreen, now the seventh-largest liner operator, has an active fleet of 1.95m teu, comprising 202 owned ships and 36 chartered units.

Based on data submitted to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Evergreen’s revenue totalled TW$379.04bn (US$12.07bn) in 2025, down 18% from 2024.

Also this week, Zhonggu Logistics, China’s largest inland container shipping company, commissioned four 6,000 teu ships at Hengli Heavy Industry, with options for two more. They will be the largest in Zhonggu’s fleet after their estimated delivery in 2028/2029. Total contract value is $500.4m.

Zhonggu said in a Shanghai Stock Exchange filing it aimed to become more competitive with the new orders. It has just under 50 vessels, of which the largest are 4,600 teu.

Ningbo Ocean Shipping (NBOSCO) has exercised options for a 4,300 teu pair at Wenchong, after an initial order for four ships last August. Each costs $57.5m and will be delivered 2028.

Finally, tonnage provider Danaos has added to its orderbook, going to Wenchong for a 5,300 teu pair that will be delivered in 2028.

In November, John Coustas’s company contracted six 1,800 teu ships at CIMC Sinopacific and a 7,100 teu pair at Dalian Shipbuilding . The 1,800 teu vessels will be chartered to Hapag-Lloyd for 10 years, after delivery in 2027, while Taiwan’s Interasia Lines will charter the 7,100 teu ships, also arriving in 2027, for five years.

MB Shipbrokers said in its latest weekly report that overall demand for container ship newbuildings remained ‘robust’ across the feeder and mid-size segments.

The brokerage added: “Yards are comfortable and in no rush holding hefty orderbooks, and it appears buying interest is also balanced based on the yards being able release ‘hidden’ selected 2028 positions at a steady pace. Thus pricing seems unchanged from end 2025 levels.”