Seaspan has signed a letter of intent with China’s Hudong-Zhonghua to build LNG dual-fuel container vessels, according to shipbuilding sources.
The letter of intent includes the construction of 10 13,000-teu LNG-powered vessels, the sources said.
Seaspan will charter these container vessels, such as the previous LNG-powered ships it has ordered in China and South Korea.
It remains unclear when the final shipbuilding deal could be signed but it will not be “anytime soon”, the sources said.
Hudong-Zhonghua is currently building six 13,000-teu LNG dual-fuel containerships for French shipping giant CMA CGM.
CMA CGM ordered these ships in 2021 for some $130 million per vessel.
Hudong-Zhonghua recently handed over the fourth vessel in this batch, CMA CGM Sao Paolo.
These containerships feature GTT’s Mark III containment system and WinGD’s dual-fuel propulsion. The vessel’s LNG tanks have a capacity of 14,000 cbm.
LNG Prime also recently reported that CMA CGM is looking to order more dual-fuel containerships.
25 LNG-powered containerships
As of March 31, 2024, Seaspan’s operating fleet consisted of 165 vessels, with an additional 23 ships under construction, delivering through to December 2024.
Seaspan previously ordered LNG dual-fuel containerships in South Korea and China on the back of charter deals with ZIM.
Back in 2021, Seaspan and ZIM signed a charter deal for ten 15,000-teu vessels, and they also signed charter deals for 15 7,000-teu LNG-powered container vessels.
China’s Jiangsu New Yangzi, a part of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, is building these 7,000-teu vessels.
Besides containerships, in December last year Seaspan and Hyundai Glovis joined forces to order six large LNG dual-fuel pure car and truck carriers from China’s Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS).
With this PCTC order, Seaspan entered the PCTC segment for the first time.
