TS Lines spends $246m on two 11,000 teu boxships at Waigaoqiao

TS Lines has signed a $246m contract for two 11,000 teu containerships at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, paying $123m apiece in its second big-ticket order at the CSSC-controlled yard.

The deal, struck together with China Shipbuilding Trading, pushes the Hong Kong-listed Taiwanese carrier deeper into a newbuilding programme that now spans feeders, mid-size and large tonnage. Deliveries of the new pair are scheduled for 2030. TS Lines will fund the investment through internal resources and bank borrowings, according to its filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Put the price in context: $123m per ship buys serious intra-Asia muscle at a time when many carriers are still digesting orders placed during the pandemic rate boom. TS Lines, founded in 2001 and focused squarely on intra-Asia trades, is evidently not done ordering.

What does the orderbook look like?

The fleet numbers tell the story. At the end of June, TS Lines operated 47 vessels with a combined capacity of nearly 140,000 teu, split between owned and chartered tonnage. That averages out to roughly 3,000 teu per ship — meaning the new 11,000 teu units will sit at the very top of its fleet by size.

The recent ordering rhythm is brisk:

• March: four 2,900 teu feeders at Fujian Mawei Shipyard for $168.6m, or about $42m each, with deliveries scheduled by May 2029.
• November 2025: a two-ship contract at the same Fujian Mawei yard, which took that feeder series to six vessels.
• Earlier at Waigaoqiao: two methanol dual-fuel 14,000 teu vessels and two 7,092 teu ships.

Taken together, that's a pipeline covering both ends of the size spectrum — feeders for the dense short-sea networks, and 11,000-plus teu tonnage for the longer intra-Asia and Asia-adjacent legs.

What does this change for shippers?

For intra-Asia shippers, the practical question is capacity and consistency. More owned tonnage gives TS Lines tighter control over deployment than chartered ships allow, and replacements arriving through 2029 and 2030 land well after the newest feeders now flooding the market. That's a bet on durable intra-Asia demand rather than a scramble for spot glory.

For the yards, it's more good news. Waigaoqiao keeps a repeat customer ordering at pace, and Fujian Mawei has now landed six feeder newbuilds from a single operator within months. Chinese yards' dominance in the mid-size containership segment shows no sign of loosening.

For competitors — think SITC, X-Press Feeders and the other intra-Asia regulars — a well-funded rival refreshing its fleet across every size class is not a comforting sight. TS Lines is choosing scale and fuel options, including methanol dual-fuel on the 14,000 teu pair, at prices that suggest confidence in the balance sheet.

The carrier hasn't said where the new 11,000 teu ships will trade. But with deliveries five years out, TS Lines has time to decide — and, if history is any guide, to order a few more.