Seatrade-Maritime: Could Maersk regain the size advantage with a 27,500 teu ship?

Published by Seatrade-Maritime

Container ships have grown in size with each new generation of vessels, with the last iteration being the 24,000 teu class that has endured for the last 10 years.

Maersk stopped ordering new tonnage for a time as the Net Zero Framework (NZF) was being debated and uncertainty over which fuels would prevail, as fossil fuels are gradually phased out.

That NZF decision is looming large as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) meets in December for its rescheduled Extraordinary Session, but the debate within industry has already moved on, with the talk now about efficiency.

Larger ships are generally more efficient, and with a series of technological developments new ships could pave the way for significant reductions in fuel consumption and hence emissions. If the NZF is abandoned in December, the expectation is that a patchwork of regional regulations will prevail.

It is a fair bet that reducing emissions to meet any regulations then will be a prudent move.

Analyst Alphaliner points out that Maersk’s Emma class ships built between 2006 and 2008 will need replacing and that should mean a new ordering round for Danish company

With the advent of the Gemini Cooperation’s hub and spoke services last year offer the perfect opportunity for plus size Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCV+) to enter the market.

According to Alphaliner the 27,500 teu could be economically viable: “On the very long-haul East – West mainlines, factors like the increasing price of fuel and the introduction of carbon emissions taxes will give bigger ships a competitive edge in the long run.”

An LNG-powered dual fuel vessel of about 414m in length with a 63.3m beam could carry more than 27,000 teu according to Alphaliner’s calculations.

However, to achieve such loads the vessel would need some cargo storage updates: “The ship would have to feature, among other things, a fairly full (bulky) hull, designed for speeds of 18 knots or less, lashing bridges high enough to allow 13 tiers of high-cube containers on deck, and an ‘extra’ bay on the forecastle, atop the mooring station.”

Modernised fuel tanks and their placement have been optimised to reduce the cargo capacity loss.

With the extra fuel consumption of an ULCV+ only marginally more than a 2017 built 20,500 teu ship, Alphaliner calculates: “Even without a detailed calculation it is safe to assume that at least half of the additional 7,000 teu would be carried ‘at zero fuel cost’ – at least comparatively speaking.”

Gemini’s services are designed for large east/west cargo intensive trades, with few port calls, relying on a series of feeder vessels to deliver to secondary ports from mainline calls.

With Maersk’ s need to replace older tonnage and newbuilding slots at largely at capacity until 2029, meaning that any order now would not be delivered until 2030 at the earliest.

Gemini’s NE1/AE2 service, currently operated by (20,050 teu ships calls at Ningbo, Shanghai, Tanjung Pelepas, Tanger Med, Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Salalah, Singapore, Ningbo with all ports upgraded within the coming four to five years these terminals should be able to handle ULCV+ ships “in principle”.

“Alphaliner believes that Maersk would have the most to gain from ships of a new size class, and the Gemini network design, with comparatively fewer mainline calls and ‘shorter’ routes could make these vessels feasible from an operational point of view.”