As part of the ongoing modernization and decarbonization of its fleet, Hapag-Lloyd has announced its intention to invest in up to 22 new ships with capacities of less than 5,000 TEU – probably a mix of long-term chartered and owned vessels.
“This marks another important milestone for Hapag-Lloyd on its path to improved efficiency and net-zero fleet operations by 2045,” the German carrier indicated while detailing its financial results for the first nine months of 2025.
The investment targets the smaller vessel classes where Hapag-Lloyd is replacing older tonnage to cut operational costs with more fuel-efficient designs.
Hapag-Lloyd has reportedly reached out to Chinese shipyards to build two series of ships in the 3,100 TEU and 4,500 TEU ranges.
Once finalized, the carrier’s orderbook would be lifted from a current 34 vessels to 56. Hapag-Lloyd’s fleet presently amounts to 305 ships totalling 2.5m TEU – representing the world’s fifth-largest liner container operator.
Hapag-Lloyd achieved a Group EBITDA of USD 2.8 billion (EUR 2.5 billion) in the first nine months of 2025. Group EBIT and the Group profit were USD 0.9 billion (EUR 0.8 billion). Global trade has continued to grow despite multiple trade conflicts, which led to volatile demand and fluctuating freight rates. In the third quarter of 2025, the earnings improved compared with the second quarter but remained significantly below prior-year due to low freight rates and upward cost pressure.
In the Liner Shipping segment, revenues increased to USD 15.7 billion (EUR 14.1 billion). This was driven by the 9 percent increase in transport volumes – compared to the same period in 2024 – to 10.2 million TEU (9M 2024: 9.3 million TEU), with the main growth on the East-West trades.
(Photo courtesy of Hapag-Lloyd of 4,400 TEU Montreal Express on the St. Lawrence River)