TradeWinds’ Post

Eastern Pacific signs for up to a dozen car carrier newbuilds. Idan Ofer’s Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) has added to its massive orderbook with a fresh deal for up to 12 car carrier newbuilds in China. The Singapore-based diversified shipowner, with around 80 newbuilding projects, has contracted for up to eight 5,500 ceu vessels at Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding and up to four at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard. The order covers four firm LNG dual-fuel units at Fujian Mawei, delivering in 2027, and two firm at Jinling, with shipbuilding sources suggesting a price of about $80m each. The construction of the four mid-sized car carriers will be carried out at Xiamen Shipbuilding, with the owner securing options for an additional four vessels. At the same time, the Jinling Shipyard deal came with two optional units. Earlier this year, EPS also booked up to eight 50,000 dwt MR tankers at Fujian Mawei, with delivery of the four firm ships due in 2026, while Ofer’s cooperation with China Merchants Jinling continued following contracts for a series of 7,000 ceu dual-fuel newbuilds. About 35 firm car carriers have been contracted year-to-date, according to Clarksons data, while last year saw 88 units firmed up mostly across Chinese shipyards and predominantly larger vessels.

🎉 100 years ago, on 23 February 1924, the general cargo tramper Emma Mærsk left the Odense Steel Shipyard in Denmark. The vessel was to be the first of eight Maersk vessels named Emma, a name with a special story. The first Emma Mærsk from 1924, as well as the second from 1928, were named after Mrs. Emma Isbrandtsen, a sister of A.P. Møller’s mother. The last six Emma Mærsk have been named after A.P. Møller’s daughter-in-law, Mrs. Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller. The eight vessels with the name Emma represent the major shipping segments of the A.P. Moller Group over time: One was a tramp vessel, four were crude oil tankers and one was a product tanker. Number five was a combined container and roll-on/roll-off vessel and the current Emma Mærsk was the world’s largest container vessel when launched in 2006🚢 “Shipping is full of traditions” – such was the first line in a 1985 article about “Six Emma Mærsk ships”. The sixth had just been named at the Odense Steel Shipyard, and it was an opportunity to tell the story of our tradition of using names related to the founding family on our vessels. Nearly 40 years later, we mark the 100th anniversary of the first Emma Mærsk💙 #Maerskheritage #anniversary #supplychain #globaltrade #Maersk

𝐌𝐒𝐂 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝟏𝟎-𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 Gianluigi Aponte’s Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has continued its newbuilding spree with a maiden order at Hengli Heavy Industry. The Swiss-based liner giant has signed up for a series of 10 LNG dual-fuelled containerships of 21,000 teu with deliveries likely in 2027. No value has been placed behind the deal, which could, according to the latest shipbuilding trends, top $2.5bn and follows a strategic cooperation framework agreement on a wide range of areas, including newbuilds, engine manufacturing, ship repair, and vessel retrofitting the duo inked in August. MSC, led by Soren Toft, has a fleet in excess of 6m teu, commanding a 20% share of the global operated container fleet. The world’s largest containerline has inked multiple large orders across Chinese shipyards this summer, and before the latest deal, the company’s massive orderbook stood at about 130 ships, which according to Alphaliner figures was projected to boost the fleet by an additional 1.8m slots in the coming years. In related boxship newbuild news, brokers suggest German liner Hapag Lloyd is lining up a series of 9,000 teu and 17,000 teu LNG dual-fuel vessels at yards in China with a letter of intent on the cards in the fourth quarter, while an unnamed Greek owner is in talks for 16,000 teu newbuilds in South Korea for delivery in 2027. As for the fast-growing shipbuilder, formerly known as STX Dalian, for which the MSC deal marks its first containership order, the yard has also recently reserved four VLCC newbuild slots for Hengli Group — the second supertanker order from its parent company — with deliveries set for 2026 and 2027.

𝐌𝐒𝐂 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝟏𝟎-𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 Gianluigi Aponte’s Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has continued its newbuilding spree with a maiden order at Hengli Heavy Industry. The Swiss-based liner giant has signed up for a series of 10 LNG dual-fuelled containerships of 21,000 teu with deliveries likely in 2027. No value has been placed behind the deal, which could, according to the latest shipbuilding trends, top $2.5bn and follows a strategic cooperation framework agreement on a wide range of areas, including newbuilds, engine manufacturing, ship repair, and vessel retrofitting the duo inked in August. MSC, led by Soren Toft, has a fleet in excess of 6m teu, commanding a 20% share of the global operated container fleet. The world’s largest containerline has inked multiple large orders across Chinese shipyards this summer, and before the latest deal, the company’s massive orderbook stood at about 130 ships, which according to Alphaliner figures was projected to boost the fleet by an additional 1.8m slots in the coming years. In related boxship newbuild news, brokers suggest German liner Hapag Lloyd is lining up a series of 9,000 teu and 17,000 teu LNG dual-fuel vessels at yards in China with a letter of intent on the cards in the fourth quarter, while an unnamed Greek owner is in talks for 16,000 teu newbuilds in South Korea for delivery in 2027. As for the fast-growing shipbuilder, formerly known as STX Dalian, for which the MSC deal marks its first containership order, the yard has also recently reserved four VLCC newbuild slots for Hengli Group — the second supertanker order from its parent company — with deliveries set for 2026 and 2027.

When MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company was revealed recently as the largest owner of container ships of 20 years or older Seatrade Maritime News columnist Michael Grey notes there seemed to be a veiled criticism in many of the comments. Michael explores the merits of older tonnage, shrewd secondhand vessel buys, and operating a balanced fleet. He also questions the unwillingness of banks to finance older vessel acquisitions of the grounds of sustainability. So, is an old ship a bad ship? Let us know what you think. #sustainability #shipping #shipowners #shiprecycling

MEYER WERFT’s future secured MEYER WERFT GmbH & Co. KG in Papenburg is receiving extensive support to secure its economic future. The federal government and the state of Lower Saxony are jointly acquiring around 80 per cent of the shares in MEYER WERFT and investing 400 million euros. They are also planning to provide guarantees as is customary in other industries and in cruise ship construction throughout Europe - of around one billion euros each to finance existing firm orders in order to stabilise the company. The company has now reached all the necessary agreements with the state, federal government and banks. MEYER WERFT has been an integral part of the German shipbuilding industry for more than 225 years and is known worldwide for its high-quality cruise ships. It has found it-self in this financial emergency due to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and soaring commodity prices. In addition, 80 per cent of the construction price is usually only paid when the ship is delivered - the shipyard therefore has to finance the construction with loans. The promised guarantees are being used for this purpose. Despite the current financial challenges, the company has orders worth 11 billion euros until 2031 and remains in demand interna-tionally. This emphasises the importance of the shipyard for the regional and national economy, particularly in terms of jobs and technological innovation. #shipbuilding #export #maritimeconnection https://lnkd.in/eeHMBdnW

Luxembourg – April 17th, 2024: DIS announces the signing of a shipbuilding contract with Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding Co., China, for the purchase of two (2) new Long Range (LR1 – 75,000 DWT) product tanker vessels at a contract price of US$ 55.4 million each. These new very efficient vessels are expected to be delivered to us in September and November 2027, respectively. P. d’Amico, Chairman and CEO of d’Amico International Shipping commented: “I am delighted to announce the agreement to build these two “Eco” product tanker vessels, which should be the most efficient and environmentally friendly LR1 vessels in our fleet. This deal is aligned with our strategic objective of controlling a very modern fleet. Additionally, thanks to this agreement, DIS will further strengthen its presence in the LR1 segment, reaching a total fleet of 8 modern vessels. I believe this segment of the market will continue to offer interesting returns in the next several years. In fact, on the one hand, the product tanker order book is still rather low, in particular for this size vessels, and on the other hand, the secular dislocation of world refining capacity away from some key consuming regions will continue expanding ton-mile demand, likely further benefiting LR1 vessels, which are currently already in high demand from our customers.” #DISIM #damicointernationalshipping #shipping #vessel #eco #investment #producttanker https://lnkd.in/di5nMnzH

Hapag-Lloyd contracts two Chinese yards for boxships worth up to USD 5.25 billion Hapag-Lloyd has selected two Chinese yards for its next fleet expansion, orders that total USD 5.25 billion if all options are exercised, making it one of the largest containership orders in history. Broker Intermodal reports the German carrier has contracted Yangzijiang Shipbuilding to build 10 firm plus five options 17,000 teu LNG dual-fuelled ships, costing $210m each. The ships will have 1,600 reefer slots each. The orders, adding up to 393,000 slots, will cement Hapag-Lloyd’s position as the fifth largest containerline in the world and come less than four months away from the moment the carrier ditches its Asian peers at THE Alliance to form the Gemini Cooperation with Maersk. Germany’s top carrier unveiled its medium-term business plans through to 2030 in April this year, which include an aggressive fleet growth with the line’s CEO, Habben Jensen, claiming the goals were the company’s “most ambitious strategy to date”. https://lnkd.in/gnV8MA7Y 

Hapag-Lloyd contracts two Chinese yards for boxships worth up to USD 5.25 billion Hapag-Lloyd has selected two Chinese yards for its next fleet expansion, orders that total USD 5.25 billion if all options are exercised, making it one of the largest containership orders in history. Broker Intermodal reports the German carrier has contracted Yangzijiang Shipbuilding to build 10 firm plus five options 17,000 teu LNG dual-fuelled ships, costing $210m each. The ships will have 1,600 reefer slots each. The orders, adding up to 393,000 slots, will cement Hapag-Lloyd’s position as the fifth largest containerline in the world and come less than four months away from the moment the carrier ditches its Asian peers at THE Alliance to form the Gemini Cooperation with Maersk. Germany’s top carrier unveiled its medium-term business plans through to 2030 in April this year, which include an aggressive fleet growth with the line’s CEO, Habben Jensen, claiming the goals were the company’s “most ambitious strategy to date”. https://lnkd.in/gnV8MA7Y 

Greece’s «vote of confidence» in Japanese shipyards:   Greek shipowners agreed to build new dry bulk carriers in Japan, giving a vote of confidence to the Japanese shipbuilding model, despite declining activity due to strong competition A major customer of the Japanese shipyards is Samos Steamship. The Greek shipping company added three more ships to its order book over the last months. These are two bulk carriers, kamsarmax type (capacity 82,000 dwt), one of which will be built in Sanoyas and the other in Oshima. Both will be delivered by the fourth quarter of 2025. Samos Steamship has also agreed with the Sumitomo shipyard for another tanker, aframax type (115,000 dwt capacity), which will be ready in the second quarter of 2025. This shipyard has undertaken the construction of the same type of ship for the company, with estimated delivery time in the second quarter of this year. These will also be some of the last ships to be built by Sumitomo, which recently announced that it will exit the commercial shipbuilding business. The orderbook of the Greek shipping company also includes another VLCC, which JMU is expected to deliver in the first quarter of 2025. Samos Steamship’s active fleet includes, according to its website, 24 ships, 16 of which are tankers and eight bulk carriers. Another company that trusts Japanese shipyards is Meadway Bulkers. The company has strengthened its shipbuilding program with two handysize bulkers (capacity 40,050 dwt each), which will be built by Namura and will be ready by the first quarter of 2026. It is noted that the company has a vessel under construction of the same type at Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard, which will be delivered this year. The Greek shipping company also turned to the Japanese group Tsuneishi, and the shipyard it maintains in China (Zhoushan) for the construction of three ultramaxes (66,200 dwt capacity each), with deliveries by the third quarter of 2026. Meadway Bulkers’ current fleet consists of 14 cargo vessels Πηγή: naftemporiki.gr