TAIWAN's Wan Hai Lines has set out to expand its fleet with up to 20 methanol dual-fuel vessels, reports Singapore's Splash 247.

The world's 11th largest containerline, which had ordered around 40 ships during the box shipping boom of 2021 and 2022, has inked a letter of intent with compatriot shipbuilder CSBC Corporation for 12 firm and four optional 8,000 TEU ships worth between US$102.5 million and $124 million each.

For CSBC, the order is hugely significant. The shipbuilder, which has facilities in Keelung and Kaohsiung, has a history of building boxships but has missed out in the giant wave of boxship ordering in the 2020s.

Wan Hai, whose second-quarter revenues more than doubled at $1.18 billion, has also lined up four 8,700 TEU dual-fuel newbuilds at HD Hyundai Samho in South Korea in a deal likely worth between $454 million and $521.6 million.

Wan Hai's fleet currently stands at 123 ships with a capacity of 514,173 TEU, with eight more newbuilds adding some 66,000 TEU this and next year.

Potential delivery dates for the latest series, which if firmed up would expand the carrier's capacity by an additional 162,800 TEU, were not divulged.

A flurry of containership orders this year is expected to add more than 2 million TEU to the world newbuilding orderbook. Clarksons' most recent data show nearly 160 ships of some 1.8 million TEU had already been booked year to date - 17 per cent above the total capacity ordered in 2023.