News / Evergreen orders three more 24,000 teu ships and shares profit with staff

Evergreen has ordered three more 24,000 teu ships at China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, after the Taiwanese liner operator announced its 2021 net profit had soared nine-fold, to $9.5bn.

Each ship is priced between $160m and $190m, with delivery expected in 2025.

VesselsValue data shows Evergreen has 10 other 24,000 teu ships on order at Hudong-Zhonghua and its affiliate, Jiangnan Shipyard, for delivery between this year and 2025.

Evergreen’s 2021 revenue more than doubled in 2020, to $17.67bn. Transpacific volumes account for 60%-70% of this, while Asia-Europe cargo contributed the remaining 30% to 40%.

Evergreen president Eric Hsieh said shipping space remained tight and the company remained bullish about its 2022 performance. He added: “It won’t be easy for freight rates to come down, so we’re optimistic about this year”.

By the end of 2025, Evergreen will have taken delivery of more than 40 new ships, with a total capacity of more than 550,000 teu. According to internal estimates, this will increase the carrier’s capacity by around 11%.

Evergreen has also announced that, in accordance with the company’s articles of association, 0.5% of its 2021 net profits would be distributed among employees. This is on top of the year-end bonus paid in December, when some staff received as much as 40 months-worth of their salary.

Based on this, the amount to be distributed to employees is around $47.5m; Evergreen is estimated to have 2,017 employees so, on average, each could get approximately $23,550.