​OOCL signs $1.6bn charters for six Seaspan 13,000 teu vessels

Orient Overseas Container Lines (OOCL) has signed 15-year charters for a total of up to RMB11.2bn ($1.57bn) for six 13,000 teu newbuilds.

The ships, due for delivery from the fourth quarter of 2026 to the first quarter of 2028, will ensure capacity growth and strengthen the competitiveness of OOCL’s fleet and services, the line said.

The signing of the charter agreements was attended by Weidong Tao, CEO of OOCL; Bing Chen, chairman, president and CEO of Seaspan; Kenny Ye, COO of OOCL; and Nick Lau - senior director, business development APAC at Seaspan.

Earlier this year, OOCL took delivery of the last in a series of a dozen 24,000 teu ships built at Dalian COSCO KHI Ship Engineering and Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering.

OOCL reported a 2.6% increase in liftings in the first nine months of 2024 to 5.5m teu, and a 23.4% increase in revenue over the same period to $5.91bn. The company’s revenues on its transpacific services doubled in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2023.

“OOCL has been continuously assessing the global economic situation, operating environment of the shipping industry, the supply and demand for container vessels as well as seeking the appropriate timing to introduce larger, modern and energy-saving vessels to further enhance the structure and the competitiveness of its fleet,” OOCL said in a press release.

Related:Massive container ship orderbook will replace ageing fleet

OOCL is the main business of Orient Overseas International Ltd, which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is a subsidiary of Cosco Shipping Group.