German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has awarded contracts to two Chinese shipyards for a total of 24 new container vessels.
Of these, 12 newbuildings – each with a capacity of 16,800 TEUs – will be built by the Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group. These units will be used to expand the capacity of services that are already in place.
An additional 12 ships, each with a capacity of 9,200 TEUs, have been ordered from New Times Shipbuilding Company and will replace older units in the Hapag-Lloyd fleet that will be nearing the end of their service life in this decade.
All of the newbuildings will be equipped with state-of-the-art, low-emission high-pressure LNG dual-fuel engines. In addition, these vessels can be operated using biomethane, which can reduce CO2e emissions by up to 95 per cent compared to conventional propulsion systems. The new ships will also be ammonia-ready.
Hapag-Lloyd will take delivery of the new vessels between 2027 and 2029. The newbuildings will have a combined capacity of 312,000 TEUs and involve a combined investment volume of around US$4 billion. A long-term financing of US$3 billion has already been committed.