News / BAL takes over order for two 14,000 teu box ships to boost its fleet

Port of Long Beach

Chinese regional carrier BAL Container Line is taking over a pair of 14,000 teu ships from Jiangnan Shipyard for $290m.

The buy follows the sale of a similar pair to MSC for a $49m profit, four months ago.

BAL parent LC Logistics disclosed the deal in a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing yesterday, noting that the order for the ships was originally made by Lecang Fantasy, a company owned by LC Logistics chairman and controlling shareholder Xu Xin in June.

Lecang Fantasy is novating the newbuilding contract to BAL, having paid the first instalment of $57.92m.

Mr Xu said the newbuildings, likely to be delivered in 2027, would expand BAL’s fleet and enhance its competitiveness, as the carrier had been relying on chartered tonnage.

Primarily an intra-Asia player, BAL has recently reactivated its China-Mexico service after freight rates recovered amid the Red Sea crisis. The carrier is likely to deploy the 14,000 teu ships to that service.

Meanwhile, a Linerlytica report today notes that a newbuilding surge in the past three months has pushed the orderbook to equivalent of 25% of the active global fleet.

And Clarksons noted that newbuild orders had focused on larger ships, of more than 12,000 teu, as the Red Sea crisis pushed-up the earnings of liner operators also keen to expedite their ‘green’ fleet renewal programmes and secure yard slots (now into 2027-28).

BAL’s takeover of the newbuildings contract was disclosed two weeks after LC Logistics announced its net profit for H1 24 had fallen 88% year on year to $1.76m, as increased revenue was offset by higher costs. During the period, the group transported 138,335 teu, up from 118,656 teu in H1 23.

Mr Xu said he expected LC Logistics and BAL to perform better in H2 24, thanks to the traditional peak season for long-haul routes, adding that the final quarter was the usual high period for its intra-Asia routes.