Despite the recent plunge in the cost of oil, a Taiwanese shipping line became the latest to order so-called ultra-large container ships – fuel-efficient vessels designed for slow steaming with eyes on a future characterized by permanently high fuel prices.
Evergreen Marine Corp. finalized its plans to charter the 11-strong fleet of 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit container ships late in January, and has exacerbated recent concerns that the vessels designed for slow steaming aren’t appropriate in the wake of tumbling fuel prices, according to the Journal of Commerce. The order was for five more ultra-large ships in addition to the six that were ordered by the shipping line in December. The company, which is involved in a shipping alliance with Cosco, “K” Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin – the so-called CKYH-E alliance – released a prepared statement explaining the latest ultra-large container ship order.
“Evergreen has taken this investment decision to introduce 18,000 TEU vessels based on market demand and the capacity requirement for joint service,” the press statement read. “Current service co-operation arrangements with its alliance partners will enable Evergreen to efficiently utilize the capacity and garner the potential economic benefits represented by larger vessels.”
Interest in ultra-large container ships may fall off
Though there has been a recent rush to obtain the ultra-large container ships, there are experts who believe that the clamoring for 18,000 TEU vessels may wane toward the end of the year, according to the Journal of Commerce. In the past six months, fuel prices have dropped more than $600 per ton to a six-year low of $242 per ton on Jan. 6. The plunge in bunker prices isn’t something that many shipping lines expected when they began ordering the fuel efficient ultra-large container ships, but now that the cost of fuel has dropped substantially, orders for the 18,000 TEU vessels may drop off.
For some time, Evergreen was actually linked with another deal, a charter for 20,000 TEU ships. Imabari Shipbuilding has secured a contract via Marubeni Corporation to build the new ultra-large container vessels, but the end user isn’t yet known, Handy Shipping Guide explained. Eleven units of the massive ships – measuring 400 metres in length by 59 metres wide – were ordered. Some speculate that the order for 20,000 TEU ships may have come from Mitsui OSK Lines.