Hai An (HAH) Approves USD 70M Order for Two 1,900 TEU Container Ships

Overview

Hai An Transport and Stevedoring (HoSE: HAH) has approved a plan to build two 1,900 TEU container ships for total investment of no more than USD 70 million, according to a board resolution published on 16 October. The order extends the fleet of Vietnam’s largest container shipowner, which already controls close to 70% of national container capacity, and locks in newbuilding pricing roughly 23% above the company’s 2022 contracts.

Key Facts

• Board resolution dated 16 October 2026 approves two 1,900 TEU container vessels with total investment capped at USD 70 million.
• Shipbuilding value under the letter of intent (LOI) signed 18 August 2026 is USD 66.96 million, or USD 33.48 million per vessel.
• Counterparties are Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard and China Shipbuilding Trading of China.
• Hull numbers H2692 and H2693 are scheduled for delivery no later than 31 October 2029 and 30 November 2029.
• Each vessel is designed at up to 172 m long, 27.5 m wide, 1,928 TEU capacity, with 280 reefer slots and 313 reefer plugs, about 18.5 knots and roughly 11,000 nautical miles of range.
• Hai An operates 20 container ships totalling 33,077 TEU, near 70% of Vietnam’s container fleet capacity and about 30% of the domestic container shipping market, per a July 2026 VIS Rating report.
• The 2022 order for the 1,781 TEU Haian Opus with Huanghai Shipbuilding was priced at USD 27.2 million, about 23.1% below the new per-vessel price.

What Happened

The resolution authorises Chairman Vu Thanh Hai and General Director Nguyen Ngoc Tuan to negotiate and execute the formal shipbuilding contracts. The USD 66.96 million LOI value covers the hulls themselves; the remaining headroom within the USD 70 million cap is earmarked for initial equipment, project staffing and related costs. The company disclosed no financing structure, so it is not yet known how much will be funded from operating cash flow, debt or equity.

The pricing marks a clear step up from Hai An’s earlier newbuild cycle. The 1,781 TEU Haian Opus, contracted in 2022 with Huanghai Shipbuilding at USD 27.2 million and delivered in 2024, implies a per-TEU cost roughly 14% lower than the new order, even though the new design carries only about 8.3% more capacity. The article attributes the gap to higher global newbuilding prices rather than to any change in specification.

Market Context

HAH closed at VND 48,200 on 15 October 2026 on HOSE. The stock sits in the logistics and container shipping segment, which has been one of the more closely tracked domestic plays as Vietnam’s export volumes and intra-Asia trade lanes expand. Hai An’s scale, 20 vessels and 33,077 TEU, plus its placement in the Alphaliner Top 100 global carrier ranking, make it the reference name for Vietnamese container shipping exposure. The order also lands against a regional newbuilding cycle in which Asian yards have seen firm pricing, a dynamic reflected in the 23% premium to 2022 terms.

Strategic Significance

The order is a capacity and renewal play rather than a demand signal. With delivery only in late 2029, the vessels add roughly 3,800 TEU of owned capacity to a fleet of 33,077 TEU, a modest but steady step toward the company’s stated ambition of a fleet of about 30 ships. The reefer specification, 280 slots per vessel, points to a deliberate tilt toward refrigerated cargo, an area where Vietnamese agricultural and seafood exports are growing and where specialised capacity commands better rates. The main risk embedded in the resolution is timing: paying 2026 newbuild prices for assets that earn revenue from 2029 exposes Hai An to a freight cycle it cannot yet read, and the 23% price premium compresses the return threshold the new tonnage must clear.

What to Watch

• Formal shipbuilding contracts with Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard and China Shipbuilding Trading, and any disclosed financing plan.
• Quarterly disclosures on the fleet expansion programme and progress toward the roughly 30-vessel target.
• Domestic container freight rates and intra-Asia volume data, which determine whether 2029 capacity arrives into a firm or soft market.
• Reefer cargo volumes in Vietnamese agriculture and seafood exports, the demand base for the 280-slot reefer specification.
• Further newbuild orders or charter-in activity, which would indicate whether the company is accelerating or pacing its expansion.