The world’s largest container shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), has once again made a significant move by further investing in Chinese shipbuilders. In just over a year, MSC has placed orders for a total of 86 LNG dual-fuel large and ultra-large container ships at Chinese shipyards, further solidifying China’s global leadership in the construction of green, high-end vessels.
According to *TradeWinds*, MSC recently placed orders for six LNG dual-fuel 22,000 TEU ultra-large container ships at Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding and Hengli Heavy Industry, with a total contract value of approximately $1.38 billion (about RMB 9.906 billion), equating to $230 million per vessel. Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding secured four ships, scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2028, while Hengli Heavy Industry won two ships, set for delivery between 2028 and 2029.
For reference, Clarksons’ data shows that the current newbuilding price for a 24,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ship is about $273 million (around RMB 1.958 billion), roughly unchanged from $272 million in the same period last year.
Earlier, Hengli Heavy Industry announced last week that it had secured orders for two LNG dual-fuel 22,000 TEU container ships, which are follow-up vessels to the six 22,000 TEU ships ordered by MSC in April this year.
Hengli Heavy Industry stated that these vessels feature exceptional loading capacity and advanced intelligent management systems, representing the cutting edge of container shipbuilding technology. Equipped with LNG dual-fuel propulsion, they significantly reduce carbon emissions, aligning with the global shipping industry’s green development trends.
Including the latest orders, Hengli Heavy Industry has now secured 28 ultra-large dual-fuel container ship orders from MSC. By batch-building these vessels, the company will effectively control construction costs, improve production efficiency, and further strengthen its competitive edge in the global ultra-large container ship market.
Notably, the dual-fuel engines for this series of ships are also independently manufactured by Hengli Heavy Industry, fully demonstrating the company’s innovation capabilities in core equipment production and further enhancing product competitiveness.
Meanwhile, MSC has also upgraded six 19,000 TEU dual-fuel container ships (hull numbers H1650-H1655) ordered last year at Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding to 22,000 TEU. It remains unclear whether MSC paid additional fees for this upgrade. When MSC ordered these six 19,000 TEU ships in June last year, the unit price was approximately $210 million.
In addition to the six orders from Hengli Heavy Industry and Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, Clarksons’ data shows that MSC has recently placed orders for six 21,700 TEU container ships at Changhong International, three 21,000 TEU ships at Hanhong Heavy Industry, and three 21,000 TEU ships at China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu), all featuring LNG dual-fuel propulsion.
The latest mega-orders highlight MSC’s long-term support for Chinese shipbuilders. Despite some international shipping companies shifting to South Korean shipyards after the U.S. threatened to impose “sky-high” port fees, MSC has consistently placed container ship orders at Chinese shipyards this year.
In June, Marie-Caroline Laurent, Senior Vice President and Head of Government Affairs & Maritime Policy at MSC Group, publicly stated: “In the era of energy transition, we will need new types of ships. Today, many of these new ships are built in China. China has the capability and the technology, and we will continue to build ships in China.”
Clarksons’ data reveals that since last year, MSC has ordered 86 large/ultra-large container ships at Chinese shipyards, all featuring LNG dual-fuel propulsion. Among them, 74 are ultra-large container ships exceeding 20,000 TEU, with a total value of approximately $16.5 billion (about RMB 118.436 billion).
Last year, MSC ordered 58 container ships at Chinese shipyards, all with capacities of 10,000 TEU or above. These included 10 x 21,000 TEU and 10 x 24,000 TEU ships at Hengli Heavy Industry, 12 x 21,000 TEU ships at Hanhong Heavy Industry, 12 x 19,000 TEU ships at Zhoushan Changhong International, six x 19,000 TEU ships at Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, and eight x 11,500 TEU ships at Penglai Jinglu Shipbuilding.
MSC’s ordering spree continued into 2025. In February this year, MSC signed an additional order for four 21,700 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships at Changhong International. In April, MSC placed another six 22,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ship orders at Hengli Heavy Industry. From June to July, MSC ordered 18 20,000+ TEU dual-fuel ships at Changhong International, Hanhong Heavy Industry, China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu), Hengli Heavy Industry, and Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding.
Notably, among the shipyards that received MSC’s orders last year, only Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding had prior experience building such ultra-large container ships. Hengli Heavy Industry and Hanhong Heavy Industry had never previously received container ship orders, while Jinglu Shipbuilding had only built feeder container ships. Before this, Changhong International’s largest container ship project was MSC’s 10 x 11,500 TEU LNG dual-fuel ships ordered in 2022.
China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu), which received MSC orders this year, is also entering the container shipbuilding market for the first time, setting a new record for China Merchants Industry’s container ship construction. According to Clarksons, aside from MSC’s orders, China Merchants Industry currently has only seven container ships on its orderbook, all built by its newly acquired Qingdao Shipyard (formerly Qingdao Shipyard Co.), including two x 6,014 TEU, one x 1,400 TEU, and four x 1,208 TEU ships. Beyond this, the only other shipyard under China Merchants Industry with container ship delivery experience is Jinling Shipyard, which has never built container ships exceeding 5,000 TEU.
MSC is the world’s largest container shipping company. According to the latest data from Alphaliner, MSC’s fleet currently operates 927 ships, making it the first container shipping company to surpass 900 vessels. Its existing fleet includes 629 owned ships and 294 chartered vessels, with a total capacity of 6.72 million TEU and a market share of 20.6%. It is also the only container shipping company globally with a capacity exceeding 6 million TEU.
Additionally, MSC has 129 new ships under construction, totaling 2.17 million TEU, also ranking first globally. Its orderbook accounts for approximately 32.3% of its existing fleet. The scale of its current orderbook alone surpasses the entire fleet capacity of Ocean Network Express (ONE), the world’s sixth-largest container shipping company (about 2.09 million TEU).
