Three major shipowners have come to the fore! Details of 13 container vessel orders from Huangpu Wenchong have been revealed.

The details of the order for 13 container vessels of three different types, which Huangpu Wenchong secured last week, have now been officially disclosed.

Earlier, on June 18, Huangpu Wenchong announced that it had successfully signed contracts with three domestic and international shipowners, securing a total of 13 container vessel construction orders—three 5,300-TEU vessels, four 6,200-TEU vessels, and six 6,400-TEU vessels—though the identities of the shipowners and the contract values were not disclosed at the time.

Jiangsu Ocean has placed an order for three 5,300-TEU container ships.

According to International Shipping Network, the three 5,300-TEU container vessels were ordered by Jiangsu Ocean Shipping. This marks Jiangsu Ocean Shipping’s first entry into the medium-sized container ship market and sets a new record for the largest vessel type in its own container fleet. Previously, the company’s largest container ships were four 3,000-TEU feeder vessels ordered last year from Suhao Chuangke Shipbuilding, scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2028.

As the shipping platform under Jiangsu Provincial Port Group, Jiangsu Ocean Shipping maintains a long-standing cooperative relationship with Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard, and currently has six 1,900-TEU feeder container vessels under construction there.

The newly built 5,300‑TEU vessel is a benchmark medium‑size container ship in the “Honghu” series, independently developed by Huangpu Wenchong. It has an overall length of 235 meters, a molded breadth of 37.5 meters, and a deadweight tonnage of approximately 71,500 tons. Through multiple rounds of hull‑form optimization, an integrated design combining high‑efficiency propellers and rudders with energy‑saving devices, and meticulous overall layout planning, the vessel achieves outstanding container stowage efficiency and fuel economy, earning widespread recognition from customers upon its market launch.

According to reports, Jiangsu Ocean Shipping Co., Ltd. was established in 1980 and is the first locally‑owned ocean shipping enterprise jointly operated by a central ministry and a provincial government nationwide. The company specializes in bulk cargo maritime transport, container liner services, international freight forwarding and ship agency, crew and vessel management, and supplies for foreign‑flagged vessels. It is committed to developing an integrated business model encompassing container shipping, bulk cargo transport, and shipping services, with the aim of becoming a leading domestic shipping enterprise—renowned internationally and globally competitive—rooted in Jiangsu.

As of December 2025, Jiangsu Ocean Shipping controls a fleet of 135 vessels totaling 2.156 million deadweight tons and 38,000 TEUs. This includes 24 owned bulk carriers with a combined deadweight tonnage of 1.438 million, as well as 22 owned container vessels carrying 310,000 deadweight tons and 23,000 TEUs. The company operates 72 container shipping routes, comprising 15 international trunk lines, 9 domestic trunk lines, 17 coastal and Yangtze River feeder services, and 31 canal‑based feeder routes. Its network spans over 100 countries worldwide, supported by nearly 30 multi‑tiered, multi‑business comprehensive cargo‑gathering hubs. The company currently employs more than 700 seafarers.

GSL has ordered four 6,200 TEU container ships.

Meanwhile, four 6,200-TEU container vessels have been ordered from Global Ship Lease (GSL), a U.S.-listed container shipping company. The newbuilds are scheduled for delivery in 2029 and 2030, with ship brokers estimating a per-vessel construction cost exceeding US$85 million, bringing the total contract value to approximately US$340 million (roughly RMB 2.303 billion).

Including the latest order, GSL has increased its total number of container ships on order this year to 14. In April, GSL placed an order with Taizhou Sanfu Shipbuilding for 10 6,200-TEU container vessels. According to data disclosed by GSL earlier this month, these ten wide-body, ultra‑high‑capacity refrigerated container ships represent a total investment of approximately US$917 million and are scheduled for phased delivery between the fourth quarter of 2028 and the first quarter of 2030.

At the time, GSL stated that these new vessels are highly flexible and were designed to seamlessly meet both current and future market demands. GSL has already secured time charter contracts for all 10 ships, with an average contract term of nearly seven years, which are expected to generate approximately US$665 million (about RMB 4.499 billion) in EBITDA.

According to reports, GSL was established in 2007 as a spin-off from the French CMA CGM Group. In August 2008, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange following a reverse merger with Marathon Acquisitions Corp. In 2018, GSL merged with Poseidon Containers Holdings, owned by Greek shipowner George Youroukos, in a deal valued at over US$780 million, bringing the combined fleet size to 38 vessels.

As of December 31, 2025, GSL’s fleet comprises and operates 71 container vessels, with capacities ranging from 2,200 TEU to 11,040 TEU. The average vessel age is 17.9 years, including 41 wide-body ships. The oldest vessel in the fleet was built in 2000, while the newest entered service in 2016.

Peter Dohle has ordered six 6,400 TEU container ships.

The remaining six 6,400-TEU container vessels were ordered by the German shipowner Peter Dohle. According to Alphaliner, each vessel is valued at approximately US$83 million, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2029. Based on this estimate, the total contract value amounts to roughly US$498 million (about RMB 3.374 billion).

In recent years, Peter Dohle has steadily increased its investment in Chinese shipyards. Last March, the company placed an order with Huangpu Wenchong for four 2,900-TEU container vessels; in March this year, it further commissioned two 3,100-TEU container ships from CSSC Chengxi. Additionally, of the four 14,000-TEU ultra-large container ships ordered from Hudong–Zhonghua in June 2024, the lead vessel, the “Alicia,” was successfully delivered in May this year.

This renewed choice of Huangpu Wenchong further strengthens Peter Dohle’s collaborative relationship with the shipyards under China Shipbuilding Group.

According to available information, Peter Dohle is a family-owned company with over 60 years of history in the shipping industry, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, and highly regarded within the sector. According to its official website, Peter Dohle operates an extensive fleet, managing one of the world’s largest fleets of tramp container vessels, comprising approximately 300 state-of-the-art ships ranging in size from 300 TEU to 14,000 TEU. All vessels meet current market requirements, such as ultra‑low speed operation and enhanced refrigeration capabilities. In addition, the company specializes in the management and operation of a bulk carrier fleet of 35 vessels, with capacities ranging from 38,000 to 175,000 deadweight tons.

With the recent order for 13 vessels now finalized, Huangpu Wenchong has accumulated a total of 39 orders in the 5,000 TEU‑plus mid-sized container ship segment, establishing a significant scale‑economy advantage in the global mid‑size container‑ship market.

According to Clarkson data, excluding the latest orders, Huangpu Wenchong currently holds a backlog of 170 vessels totaling 7.06 million deadweight tons. This includes 121 container ships, 14 bulk carriers, 14 LPG carriers, 6 multipurpose vessels, 6 offshore support vessels, and 8 other vessel types, with delivery schedules extending as far as 2030.