Hanwha Ocean Wins $1.2B Yang Ming Order for Six LNG Container Ships

Yang Ming Marine Transport signed a firm contract Sept. 2, 2026, with Hanwha Ocean to build six 13,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessels valued at up to $1.22 billion.

Yang Ming Chairman Chuck Tsai and Hanwha Ocean Chief Executive Charles Kim signed the definitive agreement at Yang Ming's headquarters in Taipei, the shipping line said. The deal formalizes shipyard selections approved earlier this summer.

Each Neo-Panamax vessel carries an agreed unit price between $185 million and $204 million, according to regulatory filings. The total contract value spans $1.11 billion to $1.224 billion, equivalent to 1.67 trillion won to 1.84 trillion won.

Hanwha Ocean will build the six container ships at its Geoje shipyard in South Korea. The shipbuilder will deliver the vessels sequentially across 2028 and 2029, the yard said.

Yang Ming plans to deploy the six vessels on its primary east-west trade lanes. The ships will enter scheduled rotations connecting Asia with North America, South America and the Mediterranean Sea, the carrier said.

While classified under the 13,000-TEU design category, each vessel will carry a maximum capacity of 13,650 twenty-foot equivalent units. The dimensions allow the ships to transit the expanded Neo-Panamax locks of the Panama Canal.

The hulls will feature high-pressure liquefied natural gas dual-fuel propulsion engines. The dual-fuel machinery reduces operational greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 20% compared with conventional heavy fuel oil, Yang Ming said.

Hanwha Ocean will install independent Type-B LNG fuel tanks engineered to withstand an internal design pressure of 1.0 bar. The containment technology was developed through a joint technical project with the American Bureau of Shipping.

The 1.0 bar pressure specification improves operational safety and fuel bunkering efficiency over the standard 0.7 bar baseline, the shipyard said. The higher pressure threshold reduces gas boil-off during extended vessel operations.

The newbuilding series includes alternative maritime power systems to connect the vessels directly to landside electricity grids. The shore-power setup allows the ships to shut down auxiliary diesel generators while berthed at container terminals.

Each vessel will incorporate Ammonia Fuel Ready technical specifications into the hull structure and auxiliary machinery rooms. The design enables future conversion to carbon-free ammonia propulsion during scheduled mid-life dockings, the carrier said.

The American Bureau of Shipping granted the ship design its Ammonia Fuel Ready Level 1C notation. The certification confirms structural compatibility and piping allowances for future zero-emission retrofits without requiring major drydock alterations.

Yang Ming initiated the procurement project earlier this year to replace retiring conventional tonnage. The carrier's board of directors approved the acquisition of the six dual-fuel vessels during its 411th meeting on March 12, 2026.

Yang Ming disclosed Hanwha Ocean as its selected shipyard in a July 16 filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The board established the financial transaction parameters after completing international commercial bidding, the company said.

The contract marks Yang Ming's second major newbuilding agreement with Hanwha Ocean within twelve months. The Taiwanese shipping line signed a separate deal on Sept. 16, 2025, for seven 15,880-TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships.

The September 2025 transaction carried a total contract value of $1.4 billion, equivalent to 1.93 trillion won. Those seven larger vessels are also scheduled for sequential handover from the Geoje yard across 2028 and 2029.

The combined contracts bring Yang Ming's total order book at Hanwha Ocean to 13 alternative-fuel container ships. The commitments represent an aggregate capital expenditure exceeding $2.5 billion placed with the South Korean shipbuilder.

Yang Ming also holds a parallel construction program for five 15,500-TEU LNG dual-fuel container vessels at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. The carrier held naming ceremonies for the first two vessels in that series in February 2026.

Those two initial units, named YM Willpower and YM Worthiness, operate on Asia-Mediterranean container services. A third sister vessel, YM Wayfinder, entered the water at the Ulsan shipyard later in the year, the carrier said.

Deliveries from Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will give Yang Ming a fleet of 18 dual-fuel container vessels by 2029. The deliveries will significantly raise the proportion of low-carbon tonnage in the carrier's operating inventory.

Yang Ming operated a fleet of 99 ships with an aggregate capacity of 759,000 TEU and 8.527 million deadweight tons as of June 2026. The Taiwanese state-backed carrier ranks among the 10 largest ocean shipping lines worldwide.

Taiwanese container lines have become vital commercial partners for South Korean shipbuilders. Taiwan's Evergreen Marine placed an order with Hanwha Ocean in March 2025 for six 24,000-TEU LNG dual-fuel ultra-large container ships, the yard said.

South Korean shipyards face mounting pricing competition from Chinese state-owned shipbuilders for basic commercial vessel orders. Korean yards have defended profitability by securing high-specification container slots that integrate specialized gas fuel systems and cryogenics.

The contract locks in Hanwha Ocean's drydock capacity for large commercial vessels through the end of 2029. The yard will schedule engineering reviews before starting automated steel plate cutting for the first 13,000-TEU hull.