News / In a sinking market, has the last ultra-large containership been ordered?

Hanjin's Subic Bay shipbuilding facility

As ocean carriers reel from a disastrous first half this year, they seem to have lost lost their appetite for ordering ultra-large container vessels (ULCVs).

According to Alphaliner, interest in large containerships of above 9,000 teu “has largely vanished” from shipyards.

Poor market conditions have already forced several owners to delay the delivery of vessels, the consultant said, noting that about a dozen completed newbuildings “have not yet been commissioned”.

They include five 11,010 teu ships built by Hanjin’s Philippines Shipyard at Subic Bay, running about 10 ...