[210321.EN.SEA] Taiwan's Wan Hai Splashes Out On Newbuilds And Secondhands

 

TAIWAN's Wan Hai Lines has announced another US$1 billion in new construction orders in addition to $500 million in orders placed at the beginning of 2021.

In addition to the new orders, the line has also been aggressive in the secondhand market. Since the beginning of the year, they have announced the acquisition of four box ships between 4,000 and 6,000 TEU.

This new order comes just six weeks after the company announced its first orders since November 2018, reports Fort Lauderdale's Maritime Executive.

The latest expansion is seen as a move to seize a portion of the strong transocean market and soaring rates for international services, it said.

Historically known as a leading intra-Asia carrier, the company is seeking to renew its Asian presence while also expanding into mid- and long-haul services.

Founded in 1965, Wan Hai grew to supply Asian and international services starting in the 1970s. They later transformed into a container shipping company and by 2004, the line was operating 66 container vessels in operation with a capacity of over 90,000 TEU. Today, the company has a fleet of 75 container ships with a capacity of over 218,600 TEU.

The latest order, which is rumoured to be going to a South Korean shipbuilder, is reportedly valued at $1 billion. It calls for the construction of nine vessels each with a capacity of 13,000 TEU. They will be the company's largest ships.

Today, Wan Hai operates two 11,900 TEU vessels their ships average capacity is 3,000 TEU.

Last July, it launched an independent transpacific route from China to Long Beach using two mid-sized box ships with plans to charter two more.

The line had previously participated in a shared route with Pacific International Lines, which withdraw from the partnership in February 2020, and Cosco. In addition to the US west coast service, it is believed that Wan Hai plans a South American service.

In January, Wan Hai contracted with Japan Marine United Corporation for 12 newbuild 3,013-TEers from JMU's Nihon Shipyard. Delivery is expected to begin in October 2022. This order was valued at $565 million.

Wan Hai is still in the process of receiving the previous order from the Japanese shipyard. The fourth and fifth ships of the class were delivered named in December 2020 with the second one delivered in March 2021. Three additional ships in this 3,055-TEU series are still under construction.

The series is unique in that it is based on an extra-wide beam design with an LOA of 203.5 m (667 feet) and a 34.8 metres (114 feet) breadth, making them compact 3,000 TEU-class vessels. They are designed with a deadweight capacity of 37,160 tonnes.

The company spent $85.5 million on these acquisitions. In 2020, they also acquired ships including their first two neopanamax ships from Pacific International Lines. In total, they have purchased 11 ships in the secondhand market.

The latest expansion is seen as a move to seize a portion of the strong transocean market and soaring rates for international services.

Source : HKSG.