Clarksons is reporting Soren Toft-led MSC has ordered fourteen 8，000 TEU LNG capable boxships at Chinese yard New Times Shipbuilding and a further six 7，900 TEU units at South Korea’s HD Hyundai， the yard formerly known as Hyundai Heavy Industries. All units are due to be delivered in 2025. No price has been revealed for the Chinese vessels， while the Korean ones are costing $134.3m per unit.

The multi-billion-dollar orders stretch MSC’s lead at the top of the liner rankings， its orderbook now four times as large as second-placed Maersk with MSC on track to become the first carrier in the world to operate a fleet in excess of 5m slots soon.

Starting out in 1970 with a German-built secondhand vessel of just 2，900 DWT， acquired from Hapag-Lloyd and renamed Patricia， MSC now operates 664 ships of which 186 have been bought on the secondhand market since August 2020， the greatest fleet buildup in the 66 years of containerization.