News / Evergreen looks closer to home to replace ageing feeders

Taiwanese mainline operator Evergreen is reportedly negotiating with compatriot shipbuilder CSBC Corp for an order for methanol-propelled feeder vessels.

Evergreen is said to be looking to refresh its ageing feeder fleet; according to S&P Global’s database, the company has 21 ships of less than 3,000 teu which are over 20 years old.

Evergreen has tended to commission vessels in the 1,800-2,900 teu range, which are usually assigned to its intra-Asia and regional routes.

Currently, the carrier has two 1,800 teu and 11 2,300 teu ships under construction at CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding for delivery between 2024 and 2026.

CSBC built ten 2,900 teu ships for Evergreen a few years ago, but political tension with China may have driven the Taiwanese operator to use a domestic shipyard. This could be providential for CSBC, which has been struggling to win orders in recent years, due to stiff competition from yards in East Asia, and has been surviving on orders for naval vessels from the Taiwanese government.

During the Covid-fuelled boom, the Taiwanese shipbuilder began constructing four 2,800 teu ships speculatively, which were sold to Wan Hai Lines. These will be delivered by October, after which CSBC will have no more merchant vessels in its orderbook.

According to Alphaliner, Evergreen has been very conservative over alternative fuels, such as LNG or methanol, and its orderbook mostly comprises conventionally powered ships. Talk of its reviewing orders for feeder vessels has arisen just as the carrier is about to wrap up commissions for up to 24 16,000 teu methanol-powered ships. Evergreen is said to have signed letters of intent with South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries and Japan’s Nihon Shipyard.

Meanwhile, Evergreen has begun taking delivery of 20 15,000 teu ships from Samsung HI, ordered in 2021, with the first, Ever Max, deployed on the Ocean Alliance’s AWE2 Asia-US east coast service.