According to Linerlytica, MSC's group now has 62 new maxi-sized ships under construction at the Dalian shipyard alone, with a capacity of over 20,000 TEU.

The fleet operated by MSC, already the world's leading operator by capacity, amounts to around 7.4 million TEU — equivalent to 21.5% of the global total.

MSC has reportedly placed an order with the Chinese shipyard Hengli Heavy Industries for 20 new container ships with a capacity of 24,000 TEU. This will increase the number of ships that are needed because of the large number that have already been ordered. Linerlytica has revealed this information, but has not provided details on the value of the contracts or the expected delivery dates for the vessels. 

Rumours of an order being signed between the company and the Chinese shipyard surfaced last June. At that time, however, the rumours concerned a contract for around twenty ultra-large dual-fuel (LNG) container carriers with a capacity of 20,000 TEU.

 MSC and Hengli took off with the first signing in 2024,

In any case, according to Linerlytica, Gianluigi Aponte's group now has 62 new maxi-sized ships under construction at the Dalian shipyard alone. As Splash 24/7 recalls, relations between MSC and Hengli began with the signing of a contract in 2024 for the construction of 10 21,000 TEU ships and 10 24,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG ships. This was followed by a new order for six 22,000 TEU ships, signed last year.

At the end of September, according to data from Alphaliner cited by Splash, MSC's fleet — already the world's largest by capacity — amounted to approximately 7.4 million TEU, or 21.5% of the global total, with an additional 2.94 million TEU in the order book. 

Related: MSC has set freight rates for the Far East-Europe and North Africa route

An extremely dynamic environment for the shipbuilding programmes.

The placing of this latest order comes amid an extremely dynamic environment for the sector in terms of shipbuilding programs, with the global orderbook reaching 16.2 million TEU, equal to 46.5% of the existing fleet. Among the carriers expanding their fleets is HMM, which has confirmed contracts with HD Hyundai for eight 13,000 TEU dual-fuel LNG containerships. The company intends to deploy these vessels for transport between the Far East, India and the Mediterranean.

On the other hand, Maersk recently announced a major contract, confirming that it has ordered 26 18,600 TEU containerships with dual-fuel LNG engines. These are scheduled for delivery between 2029 and 2030.

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