News / ASL expands vessel-owning plan with order for more feeders

Credit Asean Seas Line

Privately owned Chinese intra-Asia carrier Asean Sea Lines (ASL), which ordered its first newbuildings last year, has expanded its orderbook with another 1,800 teu pair at Huanghai Shipbuilding.

The new ships are priced at $32.6m each and will be delivered in August 2023.

ASL, ranked 96^th among liner operators, had been operating chartered vessels but decided on ship-owning due to rising charter costs, and in March last year, it ordered two 1,900 teu ships from CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding for delivery by mid-2023.

ASL said this time it chose Huanghai, a mid-tier Chinese shipbuilder, as many of the major yards could not offer delivery before 2025.

Other recent boxship newbuild orders have gone to mid-tier shipbuilders, for this reason. Last month, Chinese furniture maker Loctek Ergonomic Technology commissioned a similar vessel at Huanghai, which has also won orders from German tonnage provider Briese Schiffahrts.

Owned by container shipping veteran Yang Xiangdong, ASL operates nine chartered ships and says it is expanding its fleet in line with business growth, as the container shipping market is experiencing tight capacity and rising freight levels.

Last year, ASL launched four services, Tianjin-Qingdao-Ningbo-Singapore-Port Klang-Shekou-Incheon, Shanghai-Ningbo-Shekou-Nansha-Hochiminh, Ho Chi Minh City-Cat Lai and Hong Kong-Shekou-Nansha-Manila.