With newbuilding prices stabilising at levels more attractive to buyers, some owners are dipping their toes in the water once again with ultra large boxship orders, the latest being Zodiac who just last month ordered a series of 13,000 teu ships from STX. It's inevitable that in the long term, the ULCs will continue to reign as their economies of scale are so advantageous. Already there are designs on the table for 20,000+ teu vessels which remain within the current draft boundary of about 15 - 15.5 metres, enabling them to operate on the current FE/Europe/US routes. It's not inconceivable that Maersk are considering 18,000 teu vessels - or even larger - but there's no newbuilding contracts signed yet.
Brgds
Phil