Hapag-Lloyd orders further container giants

Hapag-Lloyd has commissioned the Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) to build six ships with a slot capacity of more than 23,500 TEU. The first of the newbuilds are to be delivered as early as 2024. The container liner shipping company had already placed an identical order at the end of 2020. In total, the fleet will therefore be expanded by twelve ships with more than 23,500 TEU in the coming years.
The large container ships will be equipped with a modern and particularly efficient high-pressure dual-fuel engine that runs on LNG. Alternatively, there will be sufficient tank capacity on board to run on conventional fuel. Hapag-Lloyd is focusing on liquefied natural gas as a medium-term solution - it reduces CO2 emissions by around 15 to 25 per cent and sulphur dioxide and particulates by more than 90 per cent. In the medium term, the shipping company's goal is to operate newbuilds with synthetically produced methane gas (SNG) in a climate-neutral manner.
The ships are to be deployed on routes between Europe and the Far East. Hapag-Lloyd intends to further reduce costs with the economical mega-ships in order to remain competitive in a fiercely competitive market. Freight rates for containers between Asia and Europe are currently at a high level and the shipping companies are earning good money. The next few months will show whether this will remain the case in view of the ever-increasing capacities.

Text: mb; Photo: Hapag-Lloyd