The Japanese joint venture container has inked orders for ten 13,700 teu containerships with delivery in 2025. The order is split equally between HHI and Nihon Shipyard. The price of the vessels was not disclosed.
The orders form part of a $20bn investment plan from 2022 to 2030 announced by ONE in March, with 50% of this investment for newbuildings either in the form of long-term charters or direct-owned newbuild orders.
Newbuilding orders are designed to help reduce the container line’s carbon footprint. In a continued debate in the sector whether to opt for LNG as fuel, with a potential pathway to zero emissions, or a move straight to green fuels, ONE has taken the option to make its newbuilds “ready” for green fuels.
ONE said the newbuilds had “ready’ notations to use ammonia or methanol as a fuel, as well as carbon capture and storage.
“Moreover, this fleet will enable ONE to broaden the exploration of long-term alternative fuels and decarbonization technologies in the future,” the company said in a statement. It added that it remained fully committed to achieving sustainable marine transportation by achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
ONE’s first newbuilding order is part of a strategy to reduce reliance on vessels chartered from its shareholders NYK, Mitsui OSK Lines, and K Line. In 2021 around 75% of the company’s fleet comprised vessels chartered from its shareholders and it plans to reduce this number to around 20% by 2030.
ONE has already chartered 38 vessels varying between 7,000 and 24,000 teu being delivered into its fleet from 2020 through to 2024.
The company said previously it expects to bring in about 1.2m teu of new capacity between 2022 and 2030, with a fleet growth of around 600,000 teu over the period once replacement tonnage has been taken into account.
Much like its competitors ONE finds itself awash with cash as container lines reap unprecedented profits on the back of supply chain disruption reporting a record net profit of $16.76bn for the financial year ended 31 March 2022.
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