Global shipbuilding momentum is gathering pace as a wave of new boxship orders, a major shipyard merger and approval of a next-generation ammonia-powered mega-vessel reshape the container shipping landscape.
These developments signal strong confidence in the market, expanding fleet renewal activity, and accelerating innovation in clean-fuel ship designs, while strengthening the competitive position of leading owners and shipyards worldwide, as Dynaliners reported.
Eastern Pacific Shipping has exercised options for four additional 6,000 TEU containerships at Hengli Heavy Industries, following its firm orders placed earlier this year. The vessels will be delivered between 2027 and 2028, expanding the company’s modern mid-size fleet profile.
Meanwhile, Hanwha Ocean in South Korea has secured a contract to build four LNG/dual-fuel 13,000 TEU ships for HMM, completing the carrier’s latest 12-ship program. The remaining eight units in the series were awarded earlier to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, but the Hanwha vessels will be slightly smaller — 13,000 TEU rather than 13,400 TEU — and are expected to enter service by early 2029.
Moreover, investor appetite from Greek owners is also rising. Alpha Bulkers, a traditionally bulk-focused operator, has placed a substantial containership order totaling 11 vessels split across Chinese shipyards:
4 × 4,500 TEU at Yantai CIMC Raffles
4 × 3,100 TEU at COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Guangdong
3 × 1,900 TEU at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding
The shipyard landscape is also evolving. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Mipo, both part of HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE), have completed their planned merger, with HD HHI emerging as the surviving entity.
The consolidation is expected to streamline operations and strengthen competitiveness for large-scale container projects.
On the innovation front, classification society DNV has granted Approval in Principle (AiP) for a 21,700 TEU ammonia/dual-fuel containership design, developed jointly by MSC, Zhoushan Changhong International Shipyard and CIMC ORIC.
The new design represents one of the largest ammonia-ready concepts to date, reinforcing industry interest in zero-carbon fuel pathways.
Together, these developments underline a key shift in the container shipping market: continued investor confidence in fleet expansion, deepening industrial consolidation and accelerated engineering progress toward low-carbon mega-vessel designs.
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