As the record worldwide container orderbook approaches 10 million teu, Ocean Network Express (ONE) and Hapag-Lloyd are almost done with large orders in Asia. Hapag-Lloyd is in talks with several yards for up to twelve 12,000 to 13,000 teu ships and eight 16,000 teu boats, while Singapore-based, Japanese-owned ONE is in talks with HD Hyundai in South Korea for up to twelve 16,000 teu ships, in a deal believed to be worth $2.6 billion.
According to reports, Hapag-Lloyd was taken aback by the “outrageous” pricing that South Korea’s three largest shipyards were offering following the US proposal to impose higher port fees on Chinese-affiliated freight while calling at American ports. Despite a record-breaking vessel orderbook that is slowly increasing to 10.0 Mteu, carriers and third-party owners alike are still keen to expand their newbuilding pipeline, and other carriers are interested in megamax 24,000 teu tonnage.
