Yang Ming Orders Containerships with New LNG Technology from Hanwha Ocean

Taiwan’s Yang Ming Marine Transport is continuing to pursue its strategic fleet optimization plan, reporting the order of seven additional new vessels from Korea’s Hanwha Ocean, which will be the largest in its fleet and employ a new LNG technology. The carrier is also taking steps to position itself for the coming fuel transition, adding an ammonia-ready element to the design of the vessels.

The container segment has continued overall to be the most aggressive, both with new orders and continuing the adoption of alternative fuels. DNV, presenting its annual industry forecast yesterday, noted that other segments, such as tankers, have been waiting for more clarity on the future regulations, but containerships lead both in LNG- and methanol-fueled vessels. Containership owners have over 200 LNG-fueled vessels in operation with another 355 currently on order, as well as 36 operating methanol-fueled vessels and a further 206 on order, DNV calculates. Overall, containership orders are at record levels.

Yang Ming’s new order is valued at $1.4 billion for seven vessels, each with a capacity of 15,880 TEU. They are scheduled for delivery by the first half of 2029 and will be equipped with dual-fuel LNG engines and will also have an ammonia-ready notation by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) for the design.

The vessel will be the first equipped with a Type-B LNG fuel tank with a 1.0 bar design pressure. The tank design was developed by Hanwha Ocean and ABS, and according to the report, it enhances the safety and efficiency of LNG operations compared to the current 0.7 bar design. Hanwha highlights that the ships will be able to store vaporized LNG for a longer period, which will reduce unnecessary gas incineration. The ships will also comply with future shore-power regulations.

For Yang Ming, it is the company’s second major order of LNG-fueled vessels, and ships above 15,000 TEU capacity. In 2023, the company ordered five 15,500 TEU containerships to be built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for delivery in 2026. The carrier is following a diversified future strategy as earlier this year it also ordered six 8,000 TEU methanol dual-fuel containerships to be built by Nihon Shipyard and Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan for delivery between 2028 and 2030.

Founded in 1972, Yang Ming currently has a fleet of 101 containerships representing a total of 8.2 million dwt and a capacity of 727,000 TEU. Last year, it revealed a plan for fleet optimization that calls for ordering up to 13 vessels ranging between 8,000 and 15,000 TEU. It plans to replace 20-year-old and older vessels with a capacity of 5,500 to 6,500 TEU, while also preparing for the adoption of alternative fuels.

This represents the first order from Yang Ming going to Hanwha Ocean, while the shipbuilder also emphasizes that it is part of a growing position in the Taiwanese market. Taiwan’s other large carrier, Evergreen, ordered seven containerships from Hanwha in March 2025. According to reports in the Korean media, Hanwha Ocean has booked a total of 30 vessel orders this year valued at $5.94 billion. It includes 13 containerships and 11 ultra-large crude oil tankers, as well as LNG carriers and Korea’s new icebreaker research vessel.