Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運) yesterday signed a contract with South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries Co to purchase five 13,100 twenty-foot-equivalent unit (TEU) container vessels, with delivery to start in 2024.
The deal would cost Wan Hai between US$659 million and US$700 million, including fees for potential equipment upgrades, the company said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
It is Wan Hai’s latest effort to renew its fleet, after it last year ordered 13 vessels with a carrying capacity of 13,000 TEUs each. Delivery is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of this year.
Photo courtesy of Wan Hai Lines
The company did not elaborate on why it ordered 13,100 TEU vessels, only saying in a statement that such ships could help it meet market demand and sustain its growth momentum.
Wan Hai, which mainly serves Asian routes, used to concentrate on operating and buying small and middle-sized ships.
However, it has in the past few years ordered more 13,000 TEU vessels for non-Asian routes, company data showed.
Aside from the larger vessels, Wan Hai has pending orders for 12 2,000 TEU vessels and 24 3,000 TEU vessels.
It is expected to take delivery of a total of 12 vessels with a combined capacity of 52,630 TEUs this year, 20 vessels totaling 162,298 TEUs next year and nine vessels totaling 37,640 TEUs in 2024, company data showed.
Expanding capacity has become increasingly important for shippers in the light of higher market demand and freight rates.
With a total of 146 vessels, Wan Hai has a total capacity of 412,979 TEUs, ranking 11th in the world, with a market share of 1.6 percent, according to the liner shipping database Alphaliner.
Wan Hai last week reported a net profit of NT$103 billion (US$3.6 billion) for last year, eight times higher than a year earlier, because of higher cargo fees. Earnings per share hit a record NT$42.35, it said.
The company’s board of directors has approved a proposal to distribute a cash dividend of NT$10.5 per share, implying a payout ratio of 25 percent.
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