CSCL ORDERS NEW CONTAINER SHIPS

[Alan Green]

China Shipping (CSCL) has become the first container line to follow Maersk by ordering 5 x 18,000 teu capacity vessels.

[Rick Vince]

Thank you Alan for bringing this to my attention, (and which is confirmed in Lloyds List) it is an interesting development and we can but wait to see which other companies follow this trend.

It is also reported that UASC, in conjunction with CSCL, are seeking to book five of the 18,000-teu containerships with deliveries starting from 2016 onwards, and are in talks with shipyards.

Will the 18,000 teu'ers become as ubiquitous as the 13/14,000 teu'ers have done so?
The sales and demolition markets will soon be very busy with the "smaller" vessels being disposed of, further down the food chain.
Ring the changes.
Regards, Rick

[Lexor]

Foxbusiness.com:

[Alan Green]

Whoops !!

BY OLE ANDERSEN
Published 06.05.13 at 13:03
 
Since Maersk Line in 2011 ordered a total of 20 of the world's largest container ships yet, the Triple-E ships with a capacity of more than 18,000 containers (teu), the price on these types of ships has decreased significantly. New data from British brokerage firm Clarkson shows that Maersk Line has paid USD 1.1 billion more than what ships of the same size cost at Korean yards today.
 
It was announced last week that carrier China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) has ordered a total of five new ships with a similar capacity of 18,000 teu. Now analysts Fearnley, citing numbers from Clarkson, reports that these ships have cost USD 135 million, a figure that can be compared to the price Maersk Line is paying for the 20 Triple-E ships, the first of which will be delivered during the summer; USD 190 million per ship, or USD 45 million more than competitor China Shipping Container Lines, the world's 9th largest container carrier.

"If we assume the the specifications are the same for the CSCL ships as the ones for Maersk Line, the difference in price amounts to a total USD 1.1 billion for Maersk Line's 20 ships, to be delivered from mid-2013 and onwards. Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) will deliver the five ships for CSCL between January and May 2015," writes Fearnley.
 
Drewry: Giant ships will put pressure on the rates
 
Maersk Line's Triple-E ships are being built at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), also in South Korea.
 
Neil Dekker, head of research at British analysts Drewry, points out to ShippingWatch that Maersk Line has incorporated energy efficient designs in the Triple-E series, which increased the costs related to the ships.
 
"It's common knowledge today that the design of the new ships ordered in recent months has improved significantly compared to ships of the same size built back in 2007 and 2009," says Neil Dekker.
 
Previous orders in 2013 show that shipowners have ordered container ships of 14,000 teu from Korean yards, at prices of around USD 110 million per ship. So expectations are that China Shipping Container Lines will finish with a significant discount compared to Maersk Line.

[al1442]

http://linervision.wordpress.com/2013/05/05/cscl-chooses-hyundai-for-18000-teu-orders/
http://linervision.wordpress.com/2013/04/29/cscl-orders-18000-teu-quintet-in-korea/

[Alan Green]

According to SeaIntel, shipping lines are going to universally increase rates in the next few weeks and withdraw further capacity from the Asia - Europe tradelane.

[Alan Green]

Apparently Maersk have secured a discount of USD 100 million in respect of the cost of the initial Triple E's, however:

Alphaliner: Maersk pays a high price as first mover

BY OLE ANDERSEN
Published 14.05.13 at 11:35
 
The introduction of Maersk Line's new Triple-E series, the first of which will be delivered in June, marks a new chapter in the container industry. But the Danish shipping company pays a high price for the ships' innovative design and for being first movers, just as history shows that innovation seldom pays off in global container liner traffic, concludes Alphaliner in a review of several attempts at innovation in the industry, attempts that wound up failing.
 
Innovation among container carriers consists almost exclusively of building bigger and bigger ships in the pursuit of lower costs per unit. And the widespread lack of innovation in the container industry makes it difficult for the individual companies to distance themselves from the competition.
 
In the last ten years, there have been several attempts at creating new developments in the industry, for instance online freight bookings, direct long haul services to secondary ports, and the use of 53-foot containers on international routes. All of them failed, writes Alphaliner:
 
"The lack of any major breakthrough innovation and the absence of rewards for carriers that introduce them make it difficult for carriers to differentiate their services and products, resulting in price competition as the primary means to gain market share."
 
Alphaliner points to Maersk Line's "Daily Maersk," which was introduced in 2011, as another attempt at innovation that failed. The concept has already been downgraded from seven to five weekly sailings between the Far East and Northern Europe, say the analysts.
 
Maersk is also paying a high cash price for the new Triple-E ships, with a capacity of 18,275 teu. The ships were contracted in 2011 in Korea at USD 190 million a piece. Recently, shipping company CSCL ordered ships slightly bigger than Triple-E, of 18,400 teu, at a price of USD 136.6 a piece.
 
Though the CSCL ships only have one engine, while Triple-E has two, the price is 28 percent less than what Maersk is paying.
 
Alphaliner concludes that, in spite of several attempts at being innovative, and developing new concepts such as Daily Maersk, customers aren't willing to pay for these new initiatives. And the analysts point out that container rates have gone down by more than 20 percent over the last 15 years.