News / MSC continues to order new box ships as fleet capacity passes six million teu

Photo: © Sheila Fitzgerald

MSC has ordered even more new containerships from Chinese yards, as the Swiss-Italian mainline operator widens its lead over its peers.

Clarksons’ data indicates that MSC has ordered six 19,000 teu ships at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) and eight 11,500 teu ships at Penglai Zhongbai Jinglu Ship Industry (Jinglu), all to be LNG dual-fuelled.

The Jinglu commission reportedly includes options for another four vessels and is the yard’s first for large boxships, as it usually constructs feeders.

The latest orders follow Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard’s announcement last week that MSC had ordered 12 19,000 teu LNG dual-fuelled box ships to add to its previous orders for ten 11,500 teu and ten 10,300 teu vessels at the yard.

Deliveries are expected between 2027 and 2028. The price was not disclosed, but VesselsValue estimates a 17,000 teu LNG dual-fuelled ship costs around $205m, meaning that MSC could be spending in excess of $6bn.

S&P Global data shows this is the first time in nearly a decade that SWS has won orders for vessels of at least 17,000 teu. Its last order for ULVCs was in September 2015, when Cosco commissioned three 20,000 teu ships that were delivered in 2018.

On 7 August, The Loadstar reported that MSC was looking to order ten 21,000 teu ships at China’s Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry, marking that ship builder’s debut in the containership segment.

Alphaliner reports that MSC-operated fleet capacity now totals more than six million teu, including 3.07m teu on owned ships, and the carrier’s orderbook stands at 1.64m teu.

In comparison, MSC’s two largest peers, Maersk Line and CMA CGM, now have active fleets of 4.35m teu and 3.8m teu, respectively. However, CMA CGM has also been aggressively ordering newbuildings, and its orderbook is now 1.12m teu.

Clarksons noted that, despite recent boxship newbuilding deliveries reaching a record, following numerous orders during the Covid-induced boom, the Red Sea crisis has seen all the new ships being fully employed.

The global containership fleet grew 5.7% during the first half of the year, and is projected to grow by 10% overall in 2024, with deliveries reaching a record 2.9m teu.

Meanwhile, in line with decarbonisation efforts, shipowners have been looking at alternative fuels when commissioning newbuildings, and it appears that MSC, like several others, are inclined towards LNG, which has a proven supply base.