Ocean Network Express (ONE), which groups three Japanese carriers, has announced plans to invest $20 billion on new containership and terminal acquisitions over the next eight years.
The alliance was established in 2017 by K Line, MOL and NYK. It presently operates some 208 ships with a total capacity of 1.5 million TEUs, ranking it as the sixth-largest container carrier.
At an online media conference, CEO Jeremy Nixon said 150,000 TEUs of newbuilding investments would be made annually, to 2030. “We’re just starting to order ships as ONE. We have leased 38 vessels, which will be deployed from 2023 to 2025, and that’s about 500,000 TEUs. That process will replace ships due to come off-charter and help to improve our overall efficiency in slot costs and reduce our carbon footprint.”
Mr Nixon said: “Last year, 75% of our fleet was chartered from our shareholders and, by 2030, this will be reduced to 20%. This is why we need to replenish our future ship requirements.”
The newbuildings could be fuelled by hydrogen, ammonia or methanol, to align with the company’s green strategy, he indicated.
Bolstering the growth strategy has been ONE’s strong performance in its first four years of operations. After a loss in the first year, the company has been profitable ever since, with a net profit of $15.4 billion expected for fiscal year ending 31 March – a near five-fold increase on the net profit of $3.48 billion achieved in FY 2020. (Photo ONE)
