Evergreen orders LNG-powered vessels in South Korea and China

According to two filings with the stock exchange, Evergreen’s unit has ordered 11 LNG dual-fuel containerships with a capacity of 24,000 teu from South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean and China’s Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI).

Hanwha Ocean will build six vessels with a unit price of $265-295 million per vessel, the fillings show.

The total transaction is worth between $1.59 billion and $1.77 billion.

Moreover, GSI will build five LNG dual-fuel vessels with a unit price of $265-295 million per vessel, while the total transaction is worth between $1.32-$1.47 billion.

This means that both of the orders are worth between $2.91 billion and $3.24 billion.

Evergreen did not provide further information in the fillings.

LNG Prime was the first to report last month, citing sources, that Evergreen was looking to order 11 LNG-powered containerships at Hanwha Ocean and GSI.

This is the first order for LNG dual-fuel vessels for Evergreen, which has mainly focused on ordering methanol-powered ships during the last few years.

The sources noted that this move followed a major shift by Maersk, who confirmed last year that it had ordered a fleet of LNG dual-fuel containerships with a capacity of 300,000 teu from yards in China and South Korea.

Maersk also finalized contracts with several tonnage providers to charter a range of LNG dual-fuel vessels.

This move represented a significant turn for the shipping company which has been one of the biggest supporters of methanol-powered ships.

Orders for LNG-powered vessels jumped 103 percent to 264 ships last year, driven by the container and car carrier newbuild boom over the last three years, according to classification society DNV.

In 2024, 69 percent of all containership orders were for ships capable of being powered by alternative fuels, driven by cargo owners responding to consumer demands for more sustainable practices and liner companies preparing to replace older tonnage, DNV said.