Maersk has finally stepped in to try to close the gap with MSC

As charter rates continue to slide rapidly, Maersk has chartered at least six ships in the past two weeks.

Linerlytica noted that Evergreen Marine Corporation, which is also expanding its capacity, subleased one of its 13,808 TEU Thalassa Elpida to Maersk. Although Maersk will own the ship for three months, the terms of the contract remain confidential.

Similarly, in mid-October, Yangming Shipping subleased one of its 12,690 TEU vessels to Maersk for $57,000 a day for one year. "Maersk has been particularly active in the past week as it tries to make up ground lost to its main competitor MSC by using multiple vessels to load ships to the US East coast and South America," Linerlytica said.

Other vessels recently leased to Maersk include the 4,252-TEU "Nagoya Tower" built by Zodiac Maritime in 2003, which was leased to the Danish operator for $17,000 a day for two to six months. 

Japan's Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Shipyard recently received an order from Japanese ship leasing company Nissen Kaiun to build four vessels with a capacity of 5,900 TEU, and the company has reportedly agreed to lease the vessels to Maersk.

The Danish operator has also been chartering feeder ships, such as Hadley Shipping's newly built 1,781 TEU container ship Celandine, for two to four months at a rate of $12,000 a day. However, as MSC continues to lease and purchase ships, its lead has widened again. MSC's lead over Maersk remains at more than 1.3 million TEUs, while the Danish operator's current capacity is 4.12 million TEUs.

Last week, MSC took delivery of two Panamax vessels as part of a three-year lease for three vessels signed with Costamare in April 2022. MSC also acquired the 4,600 TEU Bea Schulte vessel through a private transaction with the Schulte Group, rebranding the vessel as MSC Lome V and putting it into service on its African routes.