Chang Hong International Construction! Leasing 10 dual-fuel container ships with Star Shipping.

On April 7, ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. announced a new long-term charter contract for 10 11,500 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered container ships, with a total charter cost of approximately $2.3 billion (approximately 16.748 billion yuan). These 10 new vessels will be built by Zhoushan Chang Hong International and are expected to be delivered between 2027 and 2028. They will serve ZIM's various trade routes globally.

Seven of these vessels were ordered and chartered to ZIM by Containers Ventures Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of the TMS Group owned by Greek shipowner George Economou; the remaining three were ordered and chartered by a shipping company affiliated with Kenon Holdings Ltd., which was ZIM's largest shareholder until the end of 2024.

It is understood that Chang Hong International had previously announced in February this year that it had signed an order for 10 11,400 TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered container ships with the TMS Group. This was the first cooperation between the two parties and TMS's first investment in the construction of dual-fuel container ships. On the other hand, Kenon Holdings' three additional orders had not been previously disclosed.

The Price of each new vessel in the TMS order is approximately $140 million, with a total of approximately $1.4 billion (approximately 10.194 billion yuan) for all 10 vessels. For reference, Clarksons' data shows that the Price of a new 10,000/11,500 TEU Panamax LNG dual-fuel vessel has fallen from a peak of $159 million at the end of last year to $145 million.

Eli Glickman, President and CEO of ZIM, said: “Following the successful delivery of all 46 newbuildings ordered in 2021 and 2022, we are further advancing our fleet strategy by securing this long-term charter agreement for 11,500 TEU LNG dual-fuel newbuild container vessels. This move ensures our access to a key vessel type market and further strengthens our core LNG dual-fuel fleet, representing a key commercial differentiator for us. This flexible capacity is well-suited to our operations across multiple global trade lanes, enhancing ZIM’s commercial agility and future growth potential.”

He added: “Expanding our LNG dual-fuel fleet helps to achieve ZIM's decarbonization goals and reinforces our industry-leading position in reducing carbon intensity. Operating LNG dual-fuel vessels has proven commercially advantageous for ZIM, and we anticipate continued growth in customer demand for environmentally friendly transportation options, making LNG dual-fuel vessels even more valuable in the future.”

Glickman concluded: “The addition of these 10 LNG dual-fuel vessels will keep our modern fleet competitive and support profitable growth over the long term, benefiting our shareholders.”

The latest data from Alphaliner shows that ZIM currently operates a fleet of 128 vessels with a total capacity of approximately 780,000 TEU, ranking ninth globally with a market share of 2.4%. The vast majority of ZIM's fleet consists of chartered vessels, totaling 114 vessels (89.3%), with only 14 owned vessels. In addition, ZIM has 4 on order totaling 31,600 TEU, representing 4.1% of the existing fleet.