Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping has inked a deal for up to six 7,000-teu boxship newbuildings costing more than $420m in total at New Times Shipbuilding — lifting its estimated orderbook to more than 60 ships worth in excess of $5.6bn.
Shipbuilding players said the company has booked four firm vessels with options for two more. New Times is slated to deliver two ships in late 2023 and two in 2024.
The deal is understood to have been signed several weeks ago but went unreported.
The sources added that the four firm vessels were placed against charters of at least five to seven years with feeder liner company X-Press Feeders. The rate has not been disclosed.
Managers at New Times and Eastern Pacific chief executive Cyril Ducau declined to comment when contacted.
Shipbuilding players said the vessels will run on conventional fuel. However, the company holds an option to upgrade them to dual-fuel propulsion — running on fossil or LNG fuel.
Eastern Pacific is said to be paying at least $70m each for the conventionally-fuelled ships and is expected to stump up the additional $11m per ship to upgrade them.
“EPS [Eastern Pacific] is more likely to exercise the option to have the vessels powered by dual fuel,” a source said.
Shipbuilding players point out that Eastern Pacific has done well to order the neo-panamax containerships before shipbuilding prices for this type of ship rose by more than 7%, to at least $75m per vessel. The spike is mainly due to rising steel plate costs.
Fifth contract
The deal is the fifth shipbuilding contract that Eastern Pacific has placed this year.
The other orders include two VLGCs at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, two 98,000-cbm very large ethane carriers (VLECs) at Hyundai Heavy Industries, three LNG-fuelled newcastlemax bulker newbuildings at New Times Shipbuilding, as well as six dual-fuel 15,300-teu boxships at HHI.
Eastern Pacific has secured employment contracts with extremely long durations for some of these.
Its two VLECs have been chartered to China’s Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical for 15 years, while Trafigura has fixed the VLGCs for at least five years.
Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) has taken the 15,300-teu containerships for at least 18 years. The dual-fuel newcastlemaxes were ordered against charters from mining giant Rio Tinto.
Shipbuilding players said several shipping companies are looking to order 7,000-teu boxships as liner companies plan to use this type of ship as feeder vessels. MSC, Seaspan Corp and interests linked to Germany’s Rickmers group are said to be expressing interest.
Taiwan’s TS Lines was reported to be close to concluding a deal for a quartet of such ships at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding. Asiatic Lloyd Maritime and Singapore’s Sea Consortium have already signed up for the vessel size.
