China’s giant Cosco Shipping Holdings and its Hong Kong-listed subsidiary Orient Overseas (International) (OOIL) have signed contracts for 12 24,000 TEU vessels in deals totaling $2.9 billion. The new vessels will be dual-fuel, able to operate on methanol and low-sulfur diesel.
In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Monday, Cosco said it had ordered five 24,000 TEU ships from Dalian COSCO KHI Ship Engineering (DACKS) at a total cost of $1.2 billion. The vessels are expected to be delivered between February 2027 and June 2028.
In a filing to the stock exchange Friday, OOIL said it had contracted seven similar vessels in a $1.7 billion deal with Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering (NACKS) to be delivered between July 2026 and September 2028.
The vessels will “steadily increase the fleet capacity of the Cosco Shipping Group … and allow the group to enhance the service layout and strengthen the position for its long-trade routes,” OOIL said.
The major new order will increase the number of container ships above 17,000 TEU currently on order to about 60 and totaling almost 1.4 million TEU. It coincides with growing concerns that declining cargo demand and new vessel deliveries will produce a widening gap between supply and demand. (COSCO vessel photo)
