Ocean Network Express (ONE) orders ten additional 13,700 TEU container ships from shipyards in Japan and Korea with delivery in 2025 and 2026.
Ocean Network Express (ONE) recently announced that it had placed orders for a further ten 13,700 teu container ships. According to a statement issued this week, the Singapore-based, Japan-controlled carrier is scheduled to receive the ships in 2025 and 2026.
It is recalled that the ONE had ordered ten ships of similar size last May. At the time, the carrier split the orders between South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries and Japan’s Nihon Shipyard.
Alphaliner understands that all of the latest orders will go to Japan’s Nihon Shipyard, a joint venture of Imabari and JMU. Five units were to be built at JMU Kure, three ships at Imabari Hiroshima, and two at Imabari Marugame.
However, this remains to be confirmed, as ONE did not disclose the shipyards or the price of the ships.
ONE stressed that all 20 ships in this size class would be “ready” for methanol and ammonia as alternative fuels. Until more detailed specifications are available, it remains to be seen what ‘ready’ means, as the meaning of that term often varies from ‘ready for subsequent conversion to new fuels’ to ‘dual fuel ship’.
Potentially, the ships could also be fitted with on-board carbon capture systems, an option currently being negotiated between the shipping company and the shipyard.
As a continuation of ONE’s recent efforts to reduce fuel consumption, the carrier’s new 13,700 TEU ships will be fitted with forward windshields on their forecastles. ONE claims that these devices can reduce wind resistance and therefore generate fuel savings of 3-4%.
In its recent press release, ONE did not disclose any technical specifications of the vessels, but by its admission, the ships will presumably be compact neo-panamax units (C-NPX) with a footprint of approximately 335m long and 51.00m wide. . (20 rows) wide.
ONE commented that by committing to the series of new and state-of-the-art container ships, regardless of short-term fluctuations in the container market, the company aimed to “strengthen the competitiveness of its fleet and meet customer demand for construction and maintaining an efficient and reliable supply chain’.
Methanol-ready container ships of the 13,700 teu class would currently cost around USD 175 million per ship in the region.
However, the price ONE pays could be less if the vessels are only “ready” for new fuels, rather than being designed to operate on methanol or ammonia from the start.
Source: Alphaliner
