Thai container shipping line the RCL Group has placed orders for new container vessels to be built at an undisclosed shipyard in China. The ordered vessels include two 11,000TEU ships and two 4,400TEU ships. The contracts for all four ships have a total value of approximately $369.4 million.
The 11,000TEU ships are scheduled to be delivered in 2027 while the 4,400TEU ships will follow in 2028. These four ships are the latest to be ordered by RCL from shipyards in China. In August last year, the company selected Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding for the construction of two 4,300TEU feeder container vessels in a series.
The feeder ships will be handed over by Huangpu Wenchong to RCL in the fourth quarter of 2027 and the first quarter of 2028, respectively. The newbuilding contract has a value of approximately $100 million.
The feeder ships will be fitted with engines that will run on traditional fuel but with efficiency-enhancing features that will help reduce fuel consumption by as much as 40 per cent compared to vessels of similar size.
