Three Chinese shipyards split the pie! Greek shipowners place orders, crossing industries to enter a “new” market.

Another Greek shipowner has joined the “order surge” in the newbuilding market for small- and medium-sized container vessels.

According to Alphaliner, Greek shipowner Alpha Bulkers has launched a newbuilding program for 11 container vessels and has signed orders with three Chinese shipbuilding companies. Among them, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding will build three 1,900-TEU vessels; Guangdong COSCO KHI Shipbuilding will build four 3,100-TEU vessels; and Yantai CIMC Raffles will be responsible for constructing four 4,500-TEU vessels.

However, Clarkson’s data show that Alpha Bulkers has ordered three 1,800-TEU vessels from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and four 3,100-TEU vessels from CIMC Raffles. Meanwhile, Guangdong COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry also holds orders for four 3,100-TEU vessels; these orders were signed in August of this year, and the shipowner remains unknown.

The prices of the new vessels in the Alpha Bulkers fleet have not yet been disclosed. Industry insiders estimate that the unit price for Yangzijiang Shipbuilding’s 1,900 TEU container ships is around US$30 million, while the unit price for Guangdong COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry’s 3,100 TEU container ships is approximately US$45 million. The unit price for CIMC Raffles’ 4,500 TEU container ships is roughly US$58 million. Based on these estimates, the total investment for all 11 new vessels would amount to about US$500 million (approximately RMB 3.536 billion).

For reference, according to Clarkson’s data, the current price of a newbuild container ship with a capacity of 1,800–2,100 TEUs is approximately US$32 million, slightly down from US$32.25 million in the same period last year. The current price of a newbuild container ship with a capacity of 2,600–2,900 TEUs is about US$45 million, slightly up from US$43 million in the same period last year. The current price of a newbuild container ship with a capacity of 3,700–4,500 TEUs is roughly US$60.5 million, slightly up from US$60 million in the same period last year.

The order from Alpha Bulkers is of great significance for Guangdong COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry and CIMC Raffles. It is understood that this order has set a new record for container ship construction at Guangdong COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry; previously, the largest container ship built by this shipyard was a 1,774-TEU feeder vessel.

CIMC Raffles had never built container ships before. In addition to these four container ships, according to Clarkson’s data, CIMC Raffles currently has 13 vessels on hand, including four car carriers, two ro-ro vessels, four floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units, two multi-purpose support vessels (AHTS), and one rock placement vessel.

It’s worth noting that recent reports from foreign media indicated that CIMC Raffles has signed a letter of intent with German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd, planning to order 8+6 methanol dual-fuel container ships with a capacity of 4,500 TEU each.

On the other hand, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has focused this year on securing orders for small- and medium-sized container ships. As of November 17, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has received orders for 38 container ships this year, including 5 vessels of 1,100 TEU, 8 vessels of 1,700 TEU, 5 vessels of 1,800 TEU, 6 vessels of 2,900 TEU, 4 vessels of 3,000 TEU, 4 vessels of 3,100 TEU, 2 vessels of 4,300 TEU, 2 vessels of 4,488 TEU, and 2 vessels of 11,800 TEU. Among these, the two 11,800 TEU vessels were ordered by Seaspan, the world’s largest independent container ship owner; information on the owners of the remaining orders has not been disclosed.

The latest order marks Alpha Bulkers’ first entry into the container ship market. It is understood that Alpha Bulkers is a ship management company specializing in the management and operation of large dry bulk vessels. According to data on its official website, the company currently operates a fleet of 34 bulk carriers, ranging in size from Ultramax to Newcastlemax types, with an average vessel age of 9 years. This fleet provides long-haul transportation services for the dry bulk sector and maintains close partnerships with major producers of grains, coal, iron ore, and small bulk cargoes, as well as power companies, traders, and operators.

This batch of container ship orders also marks Alpha Bulkers’ first-ever new-ship order in the past two years. The company’s last ship order was placed in 2023, when it placed an order with Zhoushan COSCO SHIPPING Heavy Industry for two ultra-flexible bulk carriers, each costing approximately US$32 million. These two new vessels—the “Alpha Legend” and the “Alpha Spirit”—were delivered and put into operation this August.

Since the beginning of this year, with the fleet aging significantly and a noticeable increase in demand for intra-regional shipping routes, global demand for newbuilds of feeder and medium-sized container ships has been exceptionally strong. According to Clarkson’s data, in the first nine months of this year, new orders for container ships reached as many as 413 vessels totaling 3.3 million TEUs—more than twice the average level over the past decade, and just 7% lower than the record-breaking order pace seen in 2024. Among these, orders for feeder vessels of 5,000 TEUs or less have surged, more than doubling compared to the same period last year. The vast majority of these new feeder vessel orders have been secured by Chinese shipbuilding companies.

Despite a significant increase in new ship orders, the current backlog of orders for feeder container vessels remains relatively low. According to Clarkson’s data, the proportion of feeder vessels with capacities below 3,000 TEU currently on order accounts for only 8.11% of the existing fleet, whereas the proportion of container vessels with capacities of 8,000 TEU or above on order reaches as high as 46.60%.

Constantin Baack, CEO of MPC Container Ships (MPCC), the Norwegian container ship owner, pointed out that the order volume for small- and medium-sized container ships remains insufficient. Given that 58% of existing vessels with a capacity of under 6,000 TEU are already over 15 years old, investing in the construction of feeder and medium-sized container ships continues to be a key highlight in the current market.