COPENHAGEN: Maersk Line has sealed a $1.8billion order for up to 17 huge new container ships at DSME in Korea.The Danish owner said the second-generation Triple-E vessels will have a capacity of 19,630 teu each. The first 11 ships in the series are firm, with options for six more.
They will be 400 metres long, with a draft of 16.5 metres. Delivery is set for April 2017 to May 2018. The deal is Maersk’s second new order this year after it contracted seven 3,600-teu ships at Cosco. The new ultra-large containership (ULC) deal had been widely expected, with TradeWinds already reporting DSME had clinched the work.
The price had been reported at $151m per ship, including extra specifications, but the total bill quoted by Maersk puts this figure at $163.6m. DSME and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) were the only two yards left competing for the newbuildings, but DSME was said to have won on price. One expert told TradeWinds that $151m would have barely allowed the shipyard to break even. The last comparable deal was in March, when Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) paid Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) $155m each for four 20,150-teu newbuildings for delivery in 2017.
