According to MB Shipbrokers, the Geneva-headquartered liner operator has
signed for a series of 20,000 teu LNG dual-fuel vessels comprising a firm order
with options that could take the total to as many as 20 ships. If confirmed, it
would represent MSC’s first major newbuilding order of the year and one of the
largest containership contracts placed in 2026. The vessels are expected to be delivered
from the first half of 2029 onwards, extending MSC’s already substantial
orderbook at Hengli, one of China’s fastest-growing shipbuilders. Neither MSC nor Hengli has publicly
confirmed the order.