Wan Hai Lines has countered speculation that its recent newbuilding orders are aimed at breaking into the world’s 10 largest liner operators and displacing its Taiwanese compatriot peer Yang Ming Marine Transport.
Wan Hai’s latest newbuilding orders, comprising eight 8,000 TEU ships at CSBC Corporation and four 8,700 TEU ships at HD Hyundai Samho inked in August, leave less than 100,000 TEUs between itself and 10th ranked Yang Ming.
Wan Hai’s current fleet stands at 527,631 TEUs, including 510,960 TEUs of owned ships. Its orderbook now stands at 183,394 TEUs, and Wan Hai is reportedly considering orders for some 15,000 TEU vessels.
In comparison, Yang Ming presently has 695,108 TEU of capacity, but less than half is owned. Yang Ming only has five 15,500 TEU ships on order.
In a statement issued in response to media reports, Wan Hai stated, “Our newbuilding orders are based on replacing old vessels with new ones and our operational growth, rather than comparing with others.
“We have several ships to be retired in the next few years. Considering that current regulations are becoming more and more stringent, new ships have the advantages of energy savings and carbon emissions reduction. In addition, shipyard slots must be booked in advance, so the company decided on this batch of shipbuilding plans.”
Wan Hai’s latest newbuildings will be delivered from Q3 2026 onwards. It is expected that one ship will be delivered every quarter and will be assigned to mid-haul lanes like Far East-Middle East, and Far East to India and Pakistan.
Wan Hai has taken delivery of eight 3,055 TEU and four 13,100 TEU newbuildings this year.
Speaking at a press conference on 30 August, Wan Hai’s general manager, Tommy Hsieh said, “Small ships sometimes operate as ‘extra loader’ ships to make money on the Middle East, US West-Coast and South America routes, while large ships will strengthen fixed weekly sailings on North American routes.”
Wan Hai carried around 2.33 million TEUs in the first six months of 2024. Of these, intra-Asia volumes contributed 60%, while the transpacific and Far East-Middle East/Indian subcontinent lanes each contributed around 20%.