Danish giant A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) has inked orders with three yards for a total of 20 container vessels with a total capacity of 300,000 teu equipped with dual-fuel engines.
All 20 ships will be equipped with liquified gas dual-fuel propulsion systems and vary in size from 9,000 to 17,000 teu.
Two ships of 9,000 teu and six 17,000 teu have been ordered at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in China.
From the twelve ships of 15,000 teu (six were ordered at Hanwha Ocean in South Korea and six at New Times Shipbuilding in China).
The first vessels will be delivered in 2028, and the last delivery will take place in 2030.
With these orders, Maersk concludes the intended owned newbuilding orders announced in the August 2024 update of the fleet renewal plan.
Anda Cristescu, head of chartering & newbuilding at Maersk, said: “We are pleased to have signed agreements for 20 vessels and thereby completed the acquisition of 300,000 TEU capacity as announced in August.
“These orders are a part of our ongoing fleet renewal program and in line with our commitment to decarbonisation, as all the vessels will have dual-fuel engines with the intent to operate them on lower emissions fuel”.
“Due to their different sizes, the vessels will be able to fill many roles and functions within our future network and give us a lot of deployment flexibility when they are ready to enter our fleet. Once phased in, they will replace existing capacity in our fleet,” noted Anda Cristescu, chartering & newbuilding at Maersk.
The August fleet update further announced the intention to charter a range of methanol and liquified gas dual-fuel vessels totalling 500,000 teu capacity.
Maersk has now finalised these charter contracts across several tonnage providers. When phased in, the charter vessels will replace existing capacity.
