Hong Kong’s Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) is strengthening its fleet with 14 boxship newbuildings in China worth more than $3bn.
The COSCO-controlled liner operator has contracted Dalian COSCO KHI Ship Engineering (DACKS) and Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering (NACKS) to build 18,500 teu methanol dual-fuel series at $220m each.
DACKS will take on nine projects, while NACKS has been selected for the remaining five vessels, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2028 through to late 2029.
The order boosts COSCO’s newbuilding pipeline from 19 vessels and 352,000 teu to 33 ships and 611,000 teu, according to Alphaliner data.
For the whole COSCO Group, the orderbook, which also includes 24,000 teu methanol dual-fuel series, now stands at 64 ships and 1.11m teu, second only to Swiss-based MSC and France’s CMA CGM, with 2.13m teu and 1.55m teu, respectively.
“This investment aligns with our long-term strategy to steadily increase fleet capacity and achieve balanced growth,” the company said.