ONE tied to US$1.2Bn order for six box ships in Korea

HD Hyundai Heavy Industries disclosed on 8 May that it had secured an order for six container ships from an unnamed Asian shipping company, with deliveries scheduled through September 2029.

Shipbroking and market sources have linked Ocean Network Express (ONE) to the contract. When approached by Riviera, the company declined to comment on market speculation or third-party disclosures.

The deal is estimated at around US$1.2Bn, implying a unit price of approximately US$203M per vessel. This suggests the ships are likely to be in the 13,000+ TEU segment.

ONE operates a fleet of more than 280 container vessels with a combined capacity of around 2.2M TEU, ranking sixth among the world’s top-100 liner operators, according to Alphaliner. The consultancy also notes that the carrier maintains a newbuilding programme of 48 additional vessels.

The company reported full-year 2025 net profit of US$338M, with chief executive Jeremy Nixon attributing the result to disciplined cost control and operational efficiency amid continued market volatility.

Earlier this year, ONE announced a leadership transition, with Mr Nixon stepping down as chief executive on 1 July and Till Ole Barrelet named as his successor.

Linerlytica reported this week that the global container ship orderbook has reached a record 13M TEU following a fresh wave of contracting, pushing the orderbook-to-fleet ratio to 38.3% – the highest level since the global financial crisis.

The consultancy also noted that new orders placed in the first four months of 2026 have already exceeded 1.9M TEU. At the current pace, total contracting this year is on track to surpass the 2025 record of 5.1M TEU, marking the highest annual order volume ever recorded.