Hapag-Lloyd has signed a US$1 billion order for six, LNG dual-fuel, ultra large container vessels.

The Korean ship yard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering will build the 23,500+ TEU vessels and deliver them to Hapag-Lloyd between April and December 2023. 

In a statement, Hapag-Lloyd said the vessels will be deployed on the Europe – Far East routes as part of THE Alliance and will significantly increase Hapag-Lloyd´s competitiveness in this trade.

As part of Hapag-Lloyd sustainability strategy the vessels will be fitted with a state-of-the-art High Pressure dual fuel engine, which will be extremely fuel efficient. The engine will operate on LNG, but has alternatively sufficient tank capacity to operate on conventional fuel. 

“With the investment in six ultra large container vessels we will not only be able to reduce slot costs and improve our competitiveness on the Europe – Far East trade, but also take a significant step forward in modernizing our fleet. Additionally we will further reduce our environmental impact,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd. 

The investment, the shipper noted, will be around one billion US dollar and the financing has already been secured.