Over the last few months, shipping lines have been frantically ordering ships to obtain the economies of scale that will allow them to reduce costs and compete with their rivals. While this may seem like an astute strategy on the part of shipping lines, it is straining port operations, leading to higher peak and dwell times, as well as dockworker and automation issues.
PTI has put together a list of the three largest ship orders placed in 2015, which are:
OOCL broke all previous ship order records with its decision to purchase six 21,000 TEU ships. The order was placed with Samsung Heavy Industries and once the ships have been delivered, they are anticipated to be the larger containerships in service.
The current record is held by MSC’s group of four ships, which all measure 19,224 TEU.
Chinese shipping line China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) followed OOCL’s order a few months later with an order for ten 20,000 TEU vessels. Many of its Ocean Three alliance partners had begun to order larger ships to be more competitive, sparking its decision to follow suit. There is currently uncertainty as to what will happen with each carriers’ prospective alliance, since the Chinese government cleared the way for its new merger plan with Cosco.
Cosco has placed its own ship order for nine 20,000 TEU ships. The CSCL partner has reportedly chosen three separate builders to build the containerships. On top of this order, the shipping line will have the option to add another four vessels to its order.
