Maersk to charter 13 new feeder ships powered by conventional fuel from 2021

Shipping company Maersk is going to charter 13 new 2,200 TEU feeder ships powered by conventional fuel from 2021, the company told IAA PortNews. According to the statement, Maersk has no plans on ordering new large ships till at least 2020. The company is set to maintain its fleet capacity at about 4 million TEUs in 2019.  

The above-mentioned feeder boxships are owned and fully financed by third-party leasing companies.

The feeder ships are designed and optimized to meet specific needs of the company for which there are no optimal ships available in the market. When chartered, the ships will operate on the Intra Asia network of Sealand having replaced the older and less efficient ships chartered earlier as well as the company’s own ships the lifecycle of which is to expire in the nearest years.

The container carriers will be built by the following shipyards: China’s Jiangnan Yard – five units, Japan’s Imabari Yard – five units and Zhoushan Changhong Yard - three units. The delivery is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2021 with Imabari Yard and Jiangnan Yard and continue in the fourth quarter of 2020 – first half of 2021 with Zhoushan Changhong Yard.

As of today, Maersk fleet numbers about 250 vessels with capacity of less than 3,000 TEUs including more than 20 units of almost 20 years old.