Maersk Orders Nine in $1.1bn Deal

Maersk Line has announced that it has ordered nine 14,000 TEU boxships from Hyundai Heavy Industries in a deal worth $1.1 billion.

The contract was signed at Maersk headquarters in Copenhagen by its COO, Søren Toft,and HHI COO Sam H. Ka. The nine boxships will enter service in 2017 and be registered under the Singaporean flag. The agreement includes an option for eight additional vessels.

Mearsk announced its newbuilding program last September, which committed $15 billion to upgrade its box fleet. The company intends to add eleven 19,630 TEU Triple-E ships and seven 3,600 TEU feeder vessels to modernize the fleet, which will increase efficiency and versatility.

Since 2002, Hyundai has delivered more than 50 boxships to Maersk Line including 22 WAFMAX 4,500 TUE ships, which entered the fleet between 2011 to 2013.

As of June 2015, Maersk’s orderbook comprises of 367,406 TEUs. Meanwhile, competitors Mediterranean Shipping and CMA CGM registered orderbooks of 701,086 TEU and 418,547 TEU respectively.