Three shipowners have placed orders for six containerships totaling just under 45,000 TEU at Chinese yards, according to DynaLiners, with Zhonggu Shipping Group contracting the largest vessels in its history.

The orders, spanning vessels from 3,200 TEU to 14,000 TEU, landed at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Hengli Heavy Industries, extending a building pipeline that already stretches into 2028.

What has Zhonggu ordered?

Zhonggu Shipping Group has ordered two 14,000 TEU container ships from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, the Shanghai-based yard that ranks among China's largest builders of large boxships. The conventionally powered vessels will become the largest ships in the Chinese carrier's fleet.

Neither the contract value nor the delivery dates have been disclosed. The order builds on an already busy year for the operator, which had contracted 18 smaller container ships earlier in 2026 — eight vessels of 6,300 TEU and ten units of 1,800 TEU. Taken together, that gives Zhonggu 20 newbuildings on order this year alone, a fleet expansion concentrated in the mid-size and feeder segments with a new push into the large-vessel class.

For a carrier of Zhonggu's profile, moving into 14,000 TEU tonnage signals an ambition to compete on longer intra-Asia and possibly inter-regional trades, where economies of scale increasingly favor bigger units.

Why does Tsakos' order stand out?

Greek non-operating owner Tsakos has ordered two 3,200 TEU container ships from Hengli Heavy Industries. The contract marks the company's first containership newbuilding order in four years, ending a pause that stretched back to roughly 2022.

The vessels will be equipped with scrubbers and are scheduled for delivery during the fourth quarter of 2028. The scrubber specification points to an owner positioning the tonnage to burn cheaper high-sulphur fuel oil, a cost lever that matters for charter earnings in the feeder and regional segments.

For a non-operating owner, the timing is commercial: Tsakos is betting that charter demand for 3,200 TEU tonnage will remain firm enough by late 2028 to justify re-entering a sector it stepped away from four years ago.

What is Elbdeich building?

German shipowner Elbdeich Reederei has also contracted two container ships at a Chinese yard. Although full details have not been disclosed, the order is understood to comprise two 3,200 TEU vessels to be constructed by Hengli Heavy Industries — the same yard behind the Tsakos contract.

The newbuildings are expected to be delivered in 2028.

The pairing of two European owners at Hengli underlines the yard's growing position in the mid-size segment, a class that Chinese builders have increasingly captured as South Korean yards concentrate on larger, more expensive vessels.

What does this mean for capacity?

The six ships add to an orderbook that keeps feeding fleet growth into the second half of the decade. Zhonggu's two 14,000 TEU units alone represent 28,000 TEU of capacity, while the four 3,200 TEU vessels ordered by Tsakos and Elbdeich contribute another 12,800 TEU — a combined total of roughly 40,800 TEU from this round of orders alone.

For carriers and charterers, the deliveries landing in 2028 will arrive into a market where the balance between new tonnage and scrapping will largely determine whether spot rates hold. For shippers, the steady inflow of mid-size and large conventionally fueled tonnage suggests regional capacity will remain ample through the decade's end, with Zhonggu's expansion in particular pointing to intensifying competition on intra-Asian lanes.