Seaspan Corporation has marked a major return to shipbuilding with a substantial order for 27 dual-fuel vessels.
Parent company Atlas disclosed this newbuilding program in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The order includes vessels with capacities ranging from 9,000 TEU to 17,000 TEU.
Earlier this year, Seaspan had placed orders with unnamed shipbuilders under 13 contracts for four methanol and LNG dual-fuel 9,000 TEU ships and five 17,000 TEU ships designed to run on LNG. All these contracts have been transferred to specific nominees, from whom Seaspan will lease the ships on bareboat terms and then charter them out to liner operators on long-term agreements upon their delivery in 2027 and 2028.
In addition, Seaspan has ordered four more LNG dual-fuel 9,000 TEU units, which have been novated to a customer, and has booked five additional 17,000 TEU and five 16,000 TEU newbuilds with the same fuel capability for an undisclosed liner.
While the specific parties involved in these orders have not been disclosed, sources have previously linked New Times and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding as the likely builders, with Danish liner Maersk and the Singapore-based Ocean Network Express (ONE) speculated as potential recipients of the new vessels.
As the world’s largest containership lessor, Seaspan operates 176 ships as of the end of June, totaling approximately 1.82 million TEU, with 41 newbuilds scheduled for delivery through August 2029.
The container newbuilding market has seen a surge, adding around 1.5 million TEU to the orderbook this year after a two-year pause. Analysts at MB Shipbrokers project an additional 0.7 million TEU to be added to the global orderbook by the end of the year.
