Three vessels confirmed in the first batch! Yang Ming Marine Transport launches a new shipbuilding plan

Taiwan's shipping giant Yang Ming Marine Transport has launched a new round of shipbuilding plans, acquiring three container ships under construction from Japan's Imabari Shipbuilding.

On March 28, Yang Ming Marine Transport announced the purchase of three 8000TEU next-generation methanol dual-fuel ready container ships from Japan's Shoei Kisen Kaisha, built by Imabari Shipbuilding. The new ships are expected to be completed and delivered for operation between 2028 and 2029, fulfilling Yang Ming Marine Transport's commitment to building a comprehensive global transportation service network and providing customers with safe, reliable, and low-carbon sustainable transportation services.

Yang Ming Marine Transport did not disclose the specific Price of the new ships. According to Clarkson data, the Price of a new 8500/9500TEU methanol dual-fuel container ship is currently around US$122.5 million, an 8% increase compared to US$113.5 million in the same period last year.

Considering business expansion and strengthening core competitiveness, Yang Ming Marine Transport announced a new generation of vessel construction plan in December last year, deciding to order up to 13 container ships of 8000-15000TEU class. The purchase of three methanol dual-fuel ships is the first phase of the above plan, and the remaining 10 ships are also being processed according to internal procurement procedures to ensure a stable supply of medium- and long-term capacity and maintain the quality of global transportation services.

The new generation of ships is equipped with energy-saving main engines. It is expected that after the delivery of the new ships, fuel consumption can be immediately saved compared to older generation ships, and the dual-fuel ready Specification allows for flexibility in the use of alternative energy in the future.

Yang Ming Marine Transport pointed out that the container shipping industry faces challenges such as geopolitical changes, global supply chain restructuring, and customer demand for green transportation services. Yang Ming Marine Transport continues to enhance its fleet's competitiveness. In addition to consolidating existing capacity, it is also actively strengthening the momentum of advantageous markets, strengthening regional route layout to expand the transportation service map, and focusing on digitalization, intelligence, and energy saving and emission reduction for daily operations. The aim is to optimize efficiency and enhance the resilience of the enterprise's operations to quickly respond to external market changes and realize the vision of becoming the preferred global merchant and a key influential transportation group.

It is understood that in order to meet the needs of stable and sustainable business development in the medium and long term, Yang Ming Marine Transport will gradually deploy a new generation of energy-efficient vessels to replace 5500TEU to 6500TEU container ships with an age of over 20 years in the current fleet to strengthen the operational advantages of core routes. According to the plan, Yang Ming Marine Transport will order 7 15000TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships and 6 8000TEU dual-fuel ready container ships.

This is Yang Ming Marine Transport's return to the new shipbuilding market after a two-year hiatus. It is understood that Yang Ming Marine Transport last ordered new ships in May 2023, when the company signed a contract with South Korea's HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for the construction of five 15500TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered container ships, each costing about US$188 million. With this order, Yang Ming Marine Transport became the first shipping company in Taiwan to build dual-fuel container ships.

In 2024, thanks to the surge in freight rates caused by the Red Sea crisis, Yang Ming Marine Transport's annual Achievements surged, exceeding market expectations. According to Yang Ming Marine Transport's annual report data, the company's annual revenue in 2024 was NT$222.706 billion (approximately RMB 48.935 billion), a year-on-year increase of 58%; and after-tax net profit increased significantly to NT$64.179 billion (approximately RMB 14.102 billion), a year-on-year increase of 1265.5%.

Currently, Yang Ming Marine Transport ranks tenth in terms of capacity globally. Data from Alphaliner shows that Yang Ming Marine Transport currently operates 98 ships, including 59 self-owned vessels and 39 chartered vessels, with a total capacity of 710,000 TEU and a market share of 2.2%; in addition, there are 5 new ships under construction, with a total capacity of 77,500 TEU, accounting for 10.9% of the existing fleet.