TAIWAN's Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp's board of directors have given the green light to order five new 8,000-TEU ships for N$591.6 million (US$19.65 million) that was placed earlier by subsidiary All Oceans Transportation.
The board also agreed to issue N$7 billion in new debts for paying back old debts.
But the company remains divided whether to proceed with an order for five 16,000-TEU giants, after chairman Frank Lu submitted a proposal concerning the purchase to the board for discussion, reports the Taipei Times.
The board of Taiwan's second-largest container shipping firm did not reach a decision on the exact number of ships to be ordered, when to place an order, how to obtain the ships or even the size of the vessels, the report said.
Said Yang Ming CFO Vincent Lin: "The board has shown support for the plan after hearing our briefing on shipbuilding trends and the competitive advantage of mega containerships."
But the company is in no rush to reach a conclusion on the potential order as it still needs some time to research and observe the market, Mr Lin said.
The five new ships on order are scheduled for delivery in the next two years and will be registered as national ships, the company said.
In addition, the company's board also agreed to sell three 3,600-TEU vessels, possibly next year.
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