Wallenius Wilhelmsen contracts for 4 ships and considers investment of up to $1.5 billion
Key Facts
Wallenius Wilhelmsen said on October 28 that it had signed agreements to build 4 new car and truck carriers, with options to purchase up to 8 additional ships, expanding its fleet renewal program over the coming years. The company said the new ships will be powered by dual-fuel engines using liquefied natural gas, and each will have capacity for 9,900 CEU. Total capital expenditure is expected to reach about $1.5 billion if the company exercises all the options, making that figure contingent on their execution rather than a confirmed value for the four orders. The ships will be built at the Jinling shipyard in Jiangsu, China. Xavier Leroi, head of shipping services, said the expanded newbuild program reflects the company's confidence in the market's long-term fundamentals.
Deliveries of the four confirmed ships begin in mid-2030, while the options provide for delivery of 4 additional ships in 2031 and 4 more in 2032. The program will therefore be implemented in phases, with the additional ships entering the fleet only after the options are exercised and confirmed. Leroi said the company sees attractive opportunities in the sectors it serves and is seeking to secure the capacity, flexibility and efficiency needed to support customers over the coming decades. He said deliveries beginning in 2030 are part of an expansion that reflects the company's confidence in the market's long-term prospects. The fleet renewal program totals 26 ships when the options are included, the company said.
The new ships are designed to carry a wide range of cargo through the Shipper-class design, which combines liftable decks, heavy-duty ramps and adaptable cargo spaces. These features, according to the company, allow each ship to be configured for multiple cargo types. The ships will also use dual-fuel engines powered by liquefied natural gas, which the company links to its ambition to make low-carbon transport increasingly affordable for customers. Wallenius Wilhelmsen launched its fleet renewal program in 2023, describing it as the largest in its history. The new agreements extend that program, with confirmed deliveries beginning several years from now and options spread across the following two years.
The deal comes as the company said in August that strong demand from Asia kept its fleet fully utilized during the second quarter of 2026, while demand for vehicle carriers and roll-on/roll-off cargo exceeded available capacity. Revenue in the quarter was $1.305 billion, up 4% from the first quarter, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $361 million, down 7% quarter on quarter. In logistics services, the adjusted figure was $46 million, up 8% from the previous quarter, and the company said the quarter was the activity's best since before the Covid pandemic after adjusting for the impact of Mirrat. The company kept its August forecast for 2026 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization at about $1.6 billion. It then forecast in a trading update issued on October 6 that the figure would be between $420 million and $450 million in the third quarter, while confirming the same full-year forecast.
The company is scheduled to publish its third-quarter results on November 4, 2026, at 07:00 Central European Time, on the Oslo Stock Exchange and its website. The report follows the trading update issued on October 6, which put the expected quarterly adjusted earnings range at $420 million to $450 million and confirmed the full-year forecast at about $1.6 billion. EL7 data showed the stock with ticker 0n0b.l closed at 170.5 on October 28. The data did not specify the price currency, so the close is not attributed to a particular currency. The close was recorded on the day the ship agreements were announced, but on its own does not provide a basis for measuring the announcement's effect on trading.