DANISH shipping giant Maersk Line has reportedly ordered up to a dozen LNG dual-fuelled 16,000-TEU containerships at New Times Shipbuilding in China.

Greece's Xclusiv Shipbrokers stated in its latest market report that Maersk Line made firm orders for six vessels at New Times, with options for another six vessels.



Each ship is priced at US$200 million, with delivery slated in 2028. If the options are exercised, the total contract value will be US$2.4 billion, reports Greece's Container News.



Maersk has not responded to Container News' request for comment at the time of writing.



The reported orders were disclosed less than a week after Maersk Line commissioned six 16,000-TEU LNG dual-fuelled box ships at South Korea's Hanwha Ocean on October 9 with a total contract value estimated at $1.25 billion.



Maersk's orders at Hanwha Ocean put paid to speculation that South Korea's third-largest shipbuilder had given up on winning box ship orders. It was also Hanwha Ocean's first box ship order after two years.



Maersk is said to be mulling orders for 32 containerships overall.



Besides Hanwha Ocean and New Times, another Chinese shipyard, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, is expected to build 10 vessels for the ocean carrier.



On top of the newbuildings to be contracted by Maersk, the Danish company is understood to have chartered five 16,800 TEU vessels that John Fredriksen-controlled SFL ordered from New Times in July.



A container shipping executive told Container News that while Maersk Line had previously relied on green methanol to achieve decarbonization, concerns about an adequate supply of the fuel may have caused the Danish line to turn to LNG.