World Maritime News
WMNF 19/02/2025
Boxship orderbook set to pass 9m teu with more newbuildings in the pipeline
Taiwan’s Evergreen, Wan Hai Lines and Yang Ming are all understood to be discussing new vessels with shipbuilders. French container line operator CMA CGM and Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd are also said to be in talks about additional newbuildings. France’s CMA CGM is rumoured to be in discussions for up to 12 LNG dual-fuel boxships of 18,000 teu. Hamburg-headquartered container line Hapag-Lloyd is said to be in discussions with South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean regarding further newbuildings. If confirmed, they would add 24 vessels of between 9,200 teu and 16,800 teu, which Hapag-Lloyd contracted in China in October 2024. The dual-fuel newbuildings under discussion with Hanwha Ocean are understood to have a capacity of 17,000 teu. The world’s seventh-largest operator, Evergreen, is thought to be in the market for additional 24,000 teu containerships to add to ships of the same capacity it contracted in China and South Korea in 2021 and 2022. Alphaliner reports Wan Hai Lines to be in talks with compatriot shipbuilder CSBC for a new series of 16,000 teu containerships. The company is believed to have recently added four 8,000 teu containerships at CSBC, adding 16 ships of the same design ordered in 2024. Finally, Yang Ming is expected to order up to 13 containerships of up to 15,000 teu as part of a fleet replacement program for its oldest ships, which were built in the early 2000s. Shipbroker Clarksons notes that the containership fleet is going through a period of significant expansion due to record vessel ordering since 2021. “By the start of 2025, the containership fleet stood at 6,777 vessels of a combined 30.8 million TEU, up over 10% from the start of 2024 and up 24% from the start of 2022, with growth particularly rapid in the larger sizes,” said Clarksons. In 2024, the fleet of ships of above 12,000 teu grew by 17% in teu terms and has increased by some 50% since early 2022.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Regional container trade imbalances increase 33% from 2019 to 2024
East and Southeast Asia’s container trade imbalance has seen the largest increase between 2019 and 2024. Container Trade Statistics figures show that global container volumes grew 8% from 2019 to 183.2m teu in 2024. Still, growth has been uneven and regional imbalances between exports and imports have increased by 33%, according to BIMCO chief shipping analyst Niels Rasmussen. In particular, he noted that while regional imbalances totaled 58.8m teu, or 52% of inter-regional trade in 2019, this grew to 84.9m teu, amounting to 70% of trade between regions in 2024. In absolute terms, the imbalance in the East and Southeast Asia region remained the largest at 42.4m teu in 2024, up from 29.4m teu in 2019. BIMCO did not comment on any potential trade implications of these trends but pointed to the negative implications for container lines. “Imbalances within regions, and specific imbalances for specific container sizes and types, dictate liner operators’ cost for positioning empty containers,” said Rasmussen. “But the increasing regional imbalances point to a larger and potentially more costly problem. To accommodate growing head-haul trades, liner operators must deploy ever more and/or larger ships only to see relatively smaller revenue potential in the back-haul trades,” he added.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Hong Kong completes inaugural LNG bunkering operation
Hong Kong has formally completed its inaugural liquefied natural gas ship-to-ship bunkering today, only months after the city announced its ambition to become a hub for green marine fuels. Kunlun Energy, a gas unit of state giant PetroChina, said an 8,500 cu m LNG bunkering vessel under its operation supplied 2,200 tonnes of cryogenic LNG to Zim Aquamarine (IMO: 9968097), a 7,000 teu containership equipped with dual-fuel propulsion systems able to burn the fuel. The bunkering completed on Friday came more than four months ahead of the deadline outlined in the government’s Action Plan on Green Maritime Fuel Bunkering, unveiled late last year. The plan has outlined strategies and targets to develop the Chinese Special Administrative Region into a hub catering to the demand for bio-diesel, LNG, green methanol, and even ammonia and hydrogen in the longer term. The mid-term aim is for Hong Kong to supply more than 200,000 tonnes of cleaner fuels annually, including LNG and green methanol, by providing over 60 bunkering services for ocean-going vessels by 2030.
Read more: Lloyd’s List
Carbon tax revenue needed to offset food price hikes in poorest states
A new analysis suggests that carbon tax revenue from shipping should be redistributed to poor countries to offset possible food and transport cost hikes. Two reports by the UCL Energy Institute’s Shipping and Oceans Research Group have mapped out the impacts of different International Maritime Organization policy scenarios for taxing greenhouse gas emissions from ships for less developed countries. They found the green transition to low-carbon shipping would likely raise transport costs, with an outsize hit to small island developing states and least-developed countries. “Restricting carbon levy revenues to the shipping sector may not effectively address food security risks,” one report said. It suggested putting some of the funds from a global carbon tax to “foster a long-term and structural improvement in food security in recipient countries.”
Read more: Lloyd’s List