The Dutch reefer shipping company Seatrade is expanding its commitment to container shipping. HANSA spoke with CEO Yntze Buitenwerf about the company’s latest moves.
The company has ordered a series of 2,800 TEU vessels from Huanghai Shipyard in China’s Shandong province at an undisclosed price. The order includes two firm units and options for six more, with deliveries scheduled from 2027 onward.
The newbuildings are optimised for reefer container transport and will feature over 1,000 power connections for refrigerated containers, according to Seatrade.
CEO Buitenwerf told HANSA that the ships will initially be offered as charter vessels in the banana trade, where multinational fruit companies operate their own logistics chains. “Cranes can still be installed depending on customer needs and trade routes,” he added. All ships in the series are designed with platforms on deck to accommodate future crane installation. Brokers estimate that similar container vessels—though with fewer reefer plugs and no cranes – are priced just under $40 million at Chinese shipyards.
Seatrade’s long-term strategy
With the addition of the 2,800 TEU vessels, Seatrade’s container fleet could grow to as many as 18 units. The company is also completing a series of ten 1,800 TEU ships at the same yard. Four of them (“Seatrade Chile”, “Seatrade Colombia”, “Seatrade Ecuador” and “Seatrade Peru”) are already in service on time charter to other carriers, while six remain under construction.
According to Buitenwerf, Seatrade plans to withdraw its container ships from the charter market over the long term and deploy them in its own reefer services. Currently, the company operates more than 40 conventional reefer vessels. Within the next five years, it aims to transition to fully containerised reefer services. “Our 1,800 TEU ships with onboard cranes are particularly well suited for that,” Buitenwerf explained.
There has been industry speculation for more than a decade about Seatrade shifting to fully containerised reefer operations. Between 2015 and 2019, the company had a series of 2,200 TEU vessels built under the “Color Class” label, which were initially chartered to CMA CGM and later sold. (mph)
