Maersk Nears Reported Order for Up to 24 Megamax Boxships

Maersk is reportedly closing in on an order for twelve container ships of 24,000 TEU each, with options for another twelve vessels, according to DynaLiners. If every option gets exercised, the contract would cover 24 ultra-large container vessels totalling roughly 576,000 TEU of capacity.

To put that number in perspective: 576,000 TEU is the equivalent of about 29 of the largest ships Maersk already operates, stacked into a single ordering decision. It's megamax territory, the biggest boxships money can buy, and it would represent one of the largest single capacity commitments by any carrier in recent memory.

The reported shortlist of shipbuilders is entirely Chinese. Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, Hengli Heavy Industry and Yangzijiang Shipbuilding are understood to be the leading contenders for the work. Nothing is signed yet — no shipyard selection, no contract value, no delivery schedule has been confirmed. In shipbuilding terms, this is a deal in the window-shopping phase, albeit window-shopping at industrial scale.

What does this change for shippers and carriers?

For now, nothing is locked. But the signal matters. A confirmed order of this size would put more than half a million TEU of new capacity into the ordering pipeline, capacity that will chase freight on the Asia–Europe and other deepwater trades where 24,000 TEU vessels actually operate. Megamax ships don't do coastal work; they're built for the longest lanes, where economies of scale offset fuel and port costs.

For competitors, the message is blunt: Maersk is not standing still on fleet renewal. For shippers and forwarders, the medium-term implication is more large-tonnage supply on the major east–west lanes, which tends to weigh on spot rates once deliveries begin — assuming demand doesn't run ahead of the shipyard output.

A second mega-order in months

The reported deal wouldn't come out of nowhere. In September, Maersk confirmed a substantial order for 18,600 TEU ships — already a serious commitment to the ultra-large segment. The new 24,000 TEU series, if it materialises, would sit a clear tier above that, pushing the Danish carrier decisively back toward the megamax class it pioneered with earlier generations of giant vessels.

Two large orders in quick succession suggests a considered fleet strategy rather than a one-off bet. Carriers order years ahead of delivery, so this is Maersk positioning tonnage for the second half of the decade, not next quarter's sailing schedules.

The sequencing also says something about the Chinese yard landscape. Three mainland builders are reportedly in contention, underlining China's grip on ultra-large container ship construction — a class few yards outside Asia can still build competitively. For European and Korean shipbuilders, the list of contenders makes sobering reading.

What happens next

The open questions are the usual three: which yard wins, what the price per vessel works out to, and when the first steel gets cut. Until contracts are signed, the 576,000 TEU figure remains a DynaLiners-reported projection rather than a firm commitment, and reported deals of this magnitude have been known to shrink — or grow — before the ink dries.

Still, the direction is clear. If Maersk confirms the order, the industry's orderbook gets a fresh injection of megamax capacity, and the race among the biggest carriers to renew their deepest-water fleets takes another measured, very expensive step forward.