Maersk Line signed a contract for another 10 18,000 20-foot equivalent units containerships for the Asia-Europe trade, just four months after placing an initial $1.9 billion order for 10 of the world’s largest ships.
Confirmation of the orders, listed as options when Maersk roiled the shipping world with its order in February for ships that will set a new standard for ship size, will intensify pressure on other carriers to match Maersk’s order to protect their market share and match the carrier’s bid to change the economies of scale of shipping.