Singapore-based X-Press Feeders, the largest common feeder operator, has purchased a 3,158TEU newbuilding, adding to its fleet expansion.
[s2If is_user_logged_in()]The company has bought the Yangtze Jiangyin from Turkish tonnage provider Arkas Denizcilik for an undisclosed price, although VesselsValue states that the ship, renamed MH Green, has a market value of US$33.9 million.
MH Green was originally commissioned at Zhejiang Ouhua Shipbuilding in 2015. When Zhejiang Ouhua went bankrupt in 2018, its outstanding vessel orders were taken over by Zhoushan Changhong Shipbuilding, which is also constructing four 2,700TEU vessels for X-Press. The latter newbuildings will be delivered within 2021.
X-Press’ last purchase was in 2019, when the company bought four 5,000TEU ships from German tonnage provider Hammonia Reederei.
Container shipping consultancy Alphaliner noted that through chartering more ships, X-Press has grown its fleet by more than 20% since 2020, compared with 2.9% across the entire feeder sector.
X-Press is now ranked seventeenth among liner operators, with total capacity of 136,295TEU, compared with just under 120,000TEU in January 2020.
This coincided with some mainline operators’ ceasing their feeder services as demand weakened in H1 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Consequently, X-Press and the second-largest common feeder operator, Unifeeder, won more business from Maersk Line.
In November 2020, X-Press began a Germany – Lithuania Express service, replacing Maersk Line’s coverage of Klaipeda.
Mainline operators have been deterred from re-introducing their own feeder services because of the unexpected spike in cargo demand on long-haul routes from mid-2020 and the subsequent capacity shortage. Congestion in many major ports has increased the need for ad hoc feedering as large vessels are delayed or diverted.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
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