A flurry of newbuilding orders placed by MSC and HMM has driven the global containership orderbook to a new high, with brokers reporting that 28 additional vessels above 13,000 TEU have pushed the post-2009 orderbook to 16.2 million TEU, equivalent to 46.5% of the existing fleet.
MSC placed an order for 20 ships of 24,000 TEU at Hengli Heavy Industries in Dalian, taking the Geneva-based carrier’s orderbook for vessels above 20,000 TEU to 62 units, while South Korea’s HMM signed an eight-ship, roughly $1.5 billion deal with Hyundai Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Samho for 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel vessels.
MSC’s Mega-Order Expands Chinese Shipyard Backlog
MSC’s latest commitment of 20 vessels of 24,000 TEU at Hengli Heavy Industries in Dalian extends the carrier’s dominance of the ultra-large containership segment, lifting its total orderbook for ships above 20,000 TEU to 62 vessels. The order reinforces the shift of large containership construction toward Chinese yards, which have steadily gained market share from traditional South Korean builders in the megamax segment over recent years.
The scale of MSC’s order underscores the carrier’s continued strategy of fleet expansion even as global trade growth moderates from pandemic-era peaks. As the world’s largest container line by capacity, MSC’s newbuilding decisions carry outsized weight in setting the pace of orderbook growth across the industry, influencing charter rates and secondhand tonnage values for operators without direct newbuilding access.
HMM Adds LNG Dual-Fuel Tonnage and Feeder Capacity
HMM’s eight-ship order for 13,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel vessels with Hyundai Heavy Industries and HD Hyundai Samho is valued at approximately $1.5 billion, with the newbuildings destined for the carrier’s Far East-India-Mediterranean service. The order reflects the South Korean line’s ongoing push toward lower-emission propulsion as it renews capacity on key east-west and regional trade lanes.
Separately, HMM acquired three 2,900 TEU vessels and a single 1,700 TEU unit through a resale agreement, with the smaller ships slated for deployment in regional feeder operations. According to a company statement, HMM’s total investments this year in fleet expansion, logistics infrastructure and future technologies have reached approximately KRW6 trillion, or more than $4.5 billion, marking one of the carrier’s most aggressive capital expenditure years to date.
Fleet Growth Outpaces Scrapping as Orderbook Swells
Shipbroker Braemar data shows the global containership fleet has expanded by more than 1 million TEU in 2026, with 1.12 million TEU delivered since January against just 40,000 TEU demolished, reflecting owners’ reluctance to recycle tonnage amid firm charter and freight markets. As of October 1, cumulative new orders placed since January stood at 4.1 million TEU, a figure that excludes the latest MSC and HMM commitments.
Industry analysts have noted that carriers are positioning for a full resumption of Cape of Good Hope diversions away from the Red Sea by early 2027, a shift expected to release roughly 1 million TEU of effective capacity back into the market. With Container Trades Statistics reporting 17.5% volume growth in August and year-to-date growth at 4.8%, fleet expansion that slowed earlier in 2026 is expected to accelerate again as the enlarged orderbook is delivered over the coming three years.
Why it matters
The record orderbook signals a new capacity cycle for container shipping just as carriers anticipate a return to normal Suez Canal routing, raising the risk of oversupply if Red Sea diversions end sooner than expected. MSC and HMM’s simultaneous expansion reinforces the consolidation of shipbuilding demand around a handful of top-tier carriers and Asian yards, with implications for charter rates, secondhand values and the pace of fleet decarbonization through LNG dual-fuel newbuildings. The data also highlights a structural imbalance between fleet growth and scrapping that could pressure freight rates once new tonnage enters service en masse.
Source: Seatrade Maritime News
