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Wan Hai splurges up to $2.5 billion on new box ships

Taiwanese container carrier Wan Hai Lines has made its first foray into methanol dual fuel vessels contracting up to 20 newbuildings with CSBC and Hyundai Samho.

2 Min Read
Wan Hai ship
Photo: Wan Hai Lines

According to a disclosure to the Taiwan Stock Exchange Wan Hai has inked a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Taiwanese yard CSBC for twelve 8,000 teu container ship newbuildings with options for a further four units. The newbuildings would be fitted with methanol dual-fuel propulsion.

The contract with Wan Hai’s Singapore-based shipowning arm Wai Hai Lines (Singapore) is priced at between $102.5 million and $124 million per vessel. Including the four option vessels the total value of the order could be up to $1.984 billion.

Delivery dates for the newbuildings were not disclosed.

The Taiwanese line also inked a second LoI with South Korean yard HD Hyundai Samho for four 8,700 teu methanol dual-fuel newbuildings.

Priced at $113.5 million to $130.41 million per vessel, the total value of the order at Hyundai Samho is the range of $454 million - $521.64 million. Delivery dates were not disclosed.

The combined value of the two sets of orders is up to $2.501 billion if the options at CSBC are exercised.

The orders by Wan Hai adds to a raft of contracting for new container ship tonnage recently which have included 27, mainly LNG-dual container ships contracted by tonnage provider Seaspan Corp, and twelve 19,000 teu boxships ordered by MSC at Zhoushan Changhong.

Related:Seaspan orders 27 dual-fuel container ships

The order marks Wan Hai first methanol dual-fuel vessels and comes at a time that many container lines and owners have turned back to LNG dual-fuel over concerns of availability of green methanol and potential pathway to net zero with bio-LNG.

Analyst Alphaliner described Wan Hai’s choice of methanol dual-fuel as “at least somewhat surprising”.

“Most shipping lines that moved toward new fuels started with LNG and later added methanol as a second option. Even Maersk, the staunchest supporter of Methanol, recently had to diversify and opt for LNG-powered newbuildings, admitting that the sourcing of ’green methanol’ remained challenging,” Alphaliner commented in its weekly newsletter.

“Without a comprehensive sourcing strategy that accompanies the vessel orders, many of the new methanol dual-fuel ships will likely start their careers on conventional bunkers.”

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methanolMSCWan Hai Lines

About the Authors

Marcus Hand

Editor

Marcus Hand is the editor of Seatrade Maritime News and a dedicated maritime journalist with over two decades of experience covering the shipping industry in Asia.

Marcus is also an experienced industry commentator and has chaired many conferences and round tables. Before joining Seatrade at the beginning of 2010, Marcus worked for the shipping industry journal Lloyd's List for a decade and before that the Singapore Business Times covering shipping and aviation.

In November 2022, Marcus was announced as a member of the Board of Advisors to the Singapore Journal of Maritime Talent and Technology (SJMTT) to help bring together thought leadership around the key areas of talent and technology.

Marcus is the founder of the Seatrade Maritime Podcast that delivers commentary, opinions and conversations on shipping's most important topics.

Conferences & Webinars

Marcus Hand regularly moderates at international maritime events. Below you’ll find a list of selected past conferences and webinars.

Michele Labrut

Americas Correspondent

Michèle Labrut is a long-time Panama resident, a journalist and correspondent, and has continuously covered the maritime sector of Central & Latin America.

Michèle first came to Panama as a press attaché to the French Embassy and then returned to the isthmus as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s.

Author of Seatrade Maritime's annual Panama Maritime Review magazine and of several books, Michèle also wrote for Time magazine, The Miami Herald, NBC News and the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has also collaborated in making several documentaries for the BBC and European and U.S. television networks.

Michèle's profession necessitates a profound knowledge of the country, but her acumen is not from necessity alone, but a genuine passion for Panama.

In 2012 she was awarded the Order of Merit (Knight grade) by the French Government for her services to international journalism and in 2021 the upgrade to Chevalier grade.

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