MSC’s Orderbook Surpasses 2M TEU with New Megamax Ship Order

The world’s largest container line, Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), has placed another significant ship order, pushing its total orderbook beyond the 2 million TEU mark, according to industry analyst Alphaliner.

MSC has placed an order for ten 24,000 TEU megamax vessels with Hengli Heavy Industry, formerly known as STX Dalian. The deal is valued at approximately $2.35 billion. This investment follows a year of strong earnings for MSC, with Q3 figures suggesting monthly revenues of around $1.8 billion.

Earlier this year, MSC signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Hengli Heavy, solidifying a partnership for ship orders, engines, repair, and conversion work. In September, MSC placed an order with the same yard for 10 LNG dual-fuel 21,000 TEU ships.

The newly ordered 24,000 TEU vessels are expected to be delivered from 2028 onwards. Once these ships are confirmed, MSC’s total orderbook will rise to 2.13 million TEU — larger than the entire active fleet of Ocean Network Express (ONE), the sixth-largest container line in the world.

This move comes as MSC prepares to operate independently on major east-west trade routes. The company’s 10-year partnership with Maersk under the 2M alliance will officially end on February 1, 2025.

Beyond newbuilds, MSC has also been one of the most active players in the secondhand ship market. Since launching a historic buying spree in August 2020, the Soren Toft-led company has acquired more than 400 secondhand vessels.

With a market share exceeding 20%, MSC has set new industry benchmarks, becoming the first liner to surpass 5 million TEU in fleet capacity and soon after, 6 million TEU.

This week, Alphaliner reported that MSC had added another three secondhand ships to its fleet, continuing its aggressive expansion strategy under the leadership of founder Gianluigi Aponte.