SIMIC

The contract includes firm order for two box ships and options for another two vessels from CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding of China, which is part of state-owned shipbuilding conglomerate China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

Due to restrictions around the Covid-19 virus the signing ceremony for TS Lines' new vessels took place online, reports UK's Container News.

The newbuildings will adopt Huangpu Wenchong's bangkokmax design and will be equipped with scrubbers to comply with the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) sulphur emissions cap.

TS Lines now operates 56 routes and 44 ships, with a total capacity of 98,000 TEU. The company owns 14 of the vessels, of which eight have scrubbers installed. It is expected that two more ships will be installed with scrubbers at the end of February 2021.

Next year, two 2,700 TEU newbuildings will be delivered, giving TS Lines ownership of 50 per cent of its operated fleet.

A company representative told Container News: "Owning more ships means we can cut our charter costs. Intra-Asia shipping is doing well, and the low oil price environment is in our favour. We had wanted to order newbuildings, but the travel restrictions meant that it took a longer time to negotiate with overseas yards."