Taiwanese shipping line Yang Ming Marine Transport has disclosed plans to expand its fleet by 70%, to 1.25 million TEU by 2032.
Speaking at Yang Ming’s 53rd anniversary celebrations, chairman Chuck Tsai Feng-ming said that the company must boost its capacity to be more self-sufficient.
Tsai said: “Although market changes and policy risks are difficult to predict, our strategy is to strengthen our core business. We will acquire more containers and terminals to grow our business volume and market share. We will also accelerate digital transformation to be more competitive.”
Yang Ming now has 18 container ships on order, ranging from 8,000 TEU to 16,000 TEU. These are being constructed at Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan, as well as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean in South Korea. This year, Yang Ming will take delivery of five 15,500 TEU ships from HD-HHI.
The Taiwanese shipping line’s current fleet is about 716,000 TEU, comprising 59 owned ships of 333,691 TEU and 38 chartered vessels of 382,316 TEU. The vessels on order come up to 236,660 TEU. To bring its fleet to 1.25 million TEU, Yang Ming will need to acquire or build another 297,340 TEU of ships.
The Taiwanese line is expected to eventually commission some 20,000 TEU ships, as Tsai had said on previous occasions that Yang Ming would require such vessels. Yang Ming is the only member of the Premier Alliance (which also includes HMM and ONE) that does not have ships of over 20,000 TEU. Yang Ming is also one of two top 10 carriers, with the other being Zim Line, that does not have 20,000 TEU ships.
Yang Ming, being partly state-owned, is likely to choose Japanese or South Korean shipyards for its newbuildings, as China-Taiwan tensions have made the company cautious towards Chinese shipyards. (PL)
