Against the backdrop of the ongoing strong demand in the feeder container ship market, Interasia Lines has once again made a move, ordering up to eight new 2,900 TEU vessels from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding. This is not only the company's first collaboration with Yangzijiang, but also an important step in its fleet expansion strategy. At the same time, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has received a flood of orders, becoming the biggest beneficiary of the global feeder container ship investment boom. 

Interasia Lines has ordered a total of up to eight container ships from Yangtze River Shipyard. 

September 2nd update: The regional container shipping company Interasia Lines (IAL) has ordered up to eight 2,900 TEU container ships from China's Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group. 

This transaction marks the first time that Interasia has collaborated with Yangtze River Shipbuilding to build new ships, and it represents an important milestone in its fleet expansion strategy. The agreement includes 6 confirmed orders (expected to be delivered in 2028) and 2 option contracts. 

Interasia stated that this cooperation reflects its "ambition to enhance its competitiveness in the Asian regional market and on a broader scale". As expected, these ships are of conventional power design (92 ship orders have been finalized, and the shipowners have not chosen alternative fuel solutions!), and the cost per vessel is close to 40 million US dollars. Alphaliner also noted that the current cost of building such ships in China is approximately 38 million US dollars. 

Interasia was founded in Tokyo in 1967 and its headquarters is located in Taipei. Historically, it mainly operated the Japan-South Asia route. In recent years, it has collaborated with companies such as PIL, Wan Hai and RCL, continuously expanding its route network and extending it to East Africa and India to adapt to the trend of the vigorous development of regional trade.

Currently, Interasia operates a fleet of 25 container ships with a capacity ranging from 1,000 to 7,200 TEU. Among them, 21 are owned ships (data source: Alphaliner). In recent years, the company has been actively promoting the expansion of its fleet. For example, in Japan, in 2022, the company ordered 6 new ships of 3,055 TEU at the JMU Kure shipyard in Japan. In May and June this year, the last two ships "Interasia Triumph" and "Interasia Tactic" were received. In China, the company ordered a new ship of 7,092 TEU at the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard and plans to deliver it in the fourth quarter of 2026. In addition, the company has signed a long-term lease with the Greek shipowner Danaos and will receive two 9,200 TEU vessels in the second half of 2027.

Yangtze River launches a series of large container ships with flexible routes 

It is worth noting that recently, Yangtze River Shipbuilding Co. issued a public announcement stating that in August, the company received 22 new ship orders with a total value of 920 million US dollars. Most of these orders were for container ships (18 container ships), as well as two gas carriers and two 83,000-ton bulk carriers, further consolidating its leading position in the global shipbuilding market.

According to the announcement, the 18 container ship orders consist of 4 1100TEU vessels, 4 1800TEU vessels, 6 2900TEU vessels, 2 3000TEU vessels, and 2 4300TEU vessels. The gas carriers are 2 40000 cubic meter liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) transport ships; and 2 83000 deadweight ton bulk carriers. 

Two 4300 TEU container ships have reportedly been ordered by the Greek shipowner Euroseas. The company announced in late August that it would add two more ships of the same type to its fleet at New Yangzi Shipyard. The cost of each ship is $59.25 million and they are expected to be delivered in 2028. 

Furthermore, Greek shipowner Minerva Marine placed an order with Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in July for 2+2 1800 TEU container ships. The new vessels will use traditional fuels and are expected to be delivered successively from the end of 2027 to 2028. 

Furthermore, the Korean shipowner CK Line also placed an order with Yangzijiang Shipbuilding to build 2+2 1100 TEU container ships, with each ship costing approximately 23 million US dollars. 

The 6 2900 TEU container ships mentioned above should have been placed with Interasia. 

According to the latest information from the Sind Maritime Network, the two orders for liquefied gas vessels came from the Japanese company Lepta Shipping. 

According to the latest market weekly report by shipping brokerage company MB Broker, currently, a number of new shipbuilding projects have reached the letter of intent (LOI) stage in South Korea and China, and many more are still in the negotiation process. 

In China, inquiries are still mainly focused on feeder-type container ships, particularly those in the 2,800 - 4,300 TEU range. However, the market activity for 5,000 - 8,000 TEU vessels is also gradually increasing. 

The brokerage firm also stated that due to the consistently high level of market activity, it is expected that more orders will be confirmed in the near future. The future demand will show a "dual growth" trend, with stable demand for feeder and medium-sized vessels, and the orders for large vessels will also show an upward trend again.