Container shipping has another yard it can contract for megamax construction.
As it unfurls its next wave of newbuild expansion, Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has tapped Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard in China to build twelve 19,000 teu LNG dual-fuel containerships, the first time this yard has won orders for this size category, the yard confirmed in a release. No price has been revealed.
MSC knows the yard well, having earlier contracted it to build 20 ships ranging in size from 10,300 to 11,500 teu.
Plenty more MSC orders are expected to be confirmed in China soon.
MB Shipbroking, formerly known as Maersk Broker, is reporting that Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries, once China’s biggest private shipyard, is to reopen with MSC as one of its first clients.
Rongsheng has acquired financial backing, according to the Danish broker, and has won a contract for a series of 12,000 teu LNG dual-fuelled ships from MSC, a line that has sought out alternative yards in China for its next wave of expansion.
MSC is also reported to have signed up for ten 21,000 teu LNG dual fuel ships at Jiangsu Hantong with delivery from its new drydock starting from the second half of 2027 through 2028. Commonly known for building bulk carriers, this marks Hantong’s debut in the container segment. MSC is also rumoured to be behind a series of 11,000 teu LNG duel fuel units at Penglai Jinglu as it gears up to go it alone on the main east-west trades from next year with the end of its vessel sharing agreement with Maersk.