The Taiwanese shipping company Yang Ming is further expanding its fleet: The Japanese shipyard Imabari is delivering three 8,000 TEU container ships with a methanol option.
The dual-fuel freighters are already under construction, but will not be delivered until 2028 and 2029. The purchase is part of a fleet renewal announced by the Executive Board last December. The focus is on neo-Panamax ships, among others.
The investment plan adopted at the turn of the year provides for the ordering of up to 13 newbuilds with capacities between 8,000 TEU and 15,000 TEU. The ships now purchased are part of this newbuilding program and are intended to replace units that are more than 20 years old and also smaller with capacities of 5,500 TEU to 6,500 TEU.
According to the shipping company, the rejuvenation of the fleet is a response to geopolitical changes, the restructuring of supply chains and the increasing demand for environmentally friendly transportation.
With a total capacity of 711,000 TEU on 98 ships, Yang Ming is the tenth largest liner shipping company in the world and was a partner of Hapag-Lloyd in “THE Alliance” until February of this year. Following the Hamburg-based company’s switch to the Gemini Cooperation with Maersk, the remaining three partners – ONE, Yang Ming and HMM – will continue under the new name “Premier Alliance”. There is also a slot charter agreement with MSC, which otherwise operates alone, on certain routes.
