The Hamburg-based shipping company Peter Döhle continues to expand its fleet. Two further Post-Panamax newbuildings have been ordered in China.
According to brokers, this fulfills two options for the Post-Panamax container ships, each with a capacity of 8,400 TEU, which were agreed with Guangzhou Shipyard (GSI) when the first three ships were ordered.
Like the three sister ships, the newbuilds that have now been confirmed are scheduled for delivery in 2027 and 2028 and will be equipped with dual-fuel main engines that enable the use of gas (LNG) as fuel. The reported price is $121 million per ship.
According to reports, it is an “ultra-compact” design with a length of only 260 m and a width of 45.60 m (18 rows).
Last summer, Döhle ordered four larger “Compact Neo-Panamax” units, each with a good 14,000 TEU, also in China, but from Hudong-Zhonghua. This was preceded by a nine-year absence from the newbuilding market, during which the shipping company also had to overcome difficult times.
Döhle is the largest German tramp shipping company
As far as is known, the company’s last orders for newbuildings were placed in July 2015. At that time, two “sisters” with a capacity of 3,830 TEU were ordered from Jiangsu New Yangzijiang. The industry service Alphaliner estimates that the Döhle fleet, including Ernst Russ, has a total of 80 ships with a capacity of 278,500 TEU – not including the nine newbuilds.
Döhle is also the majority shareholder of Emirates Shipping Line, which will charter the upcoming “C-NPX” quartet from Dohle. The shipping company is also the main shareholder of Ernst Russ.
Until a few years after the Lehman crisis, German shipping companies such as Peter Döhle or Claus-Peter Offen, NSB, Hammonia or NSC dominated the top 15 internationally active tramp shipping companies. Today there are only two left.
Döhle is the largest German tramp shipping company, just ahead of Claus Peter Offen in 11th place (270,000 TEU). The Schulte Group follows in 17th place (157,500 TEU), while the MPC Group, the fourth-largest German tramp shipping company, is directly behind in 18th place with 141,700 TEU.
