Singapore’s Pacific International Lines (PIL) has confirmed an order for four 14,000-teu LNG dual-fuel container ships in China.
And the company said the vessels will also be prepared for ammonia propulsion.
Jiangnan Shipyard will build the ships for delivery from the second half of 2024 through to the first six months of 2025.
The units will run on LNG and low-sulphur diesel initially.
The order is PIL’s first for seven years following a financial restructuring.
The neo-panamax ships will be the owner’s largest and the first to use LNG.
Lars Kastrup, co-president and executive director at PIL, said the deal is part of a plan to continue optimising the fleet to serve customers in key markets.
“At the same time, it is aligned to our total commitment to reducing PIL’s carbon emissions by tapping on the latest technologies available,” he added.
“As bioLNG and e-methane as well as other technology solutions mature, we aspire to continue to be at the forefront of these developments to achieve the zero emission target,” the director said.
The quartet will be equipped with ammonia-ready fuel tanks, which make it possible to retrofit them to run on the zero-carbon bunkers when commercially available.
Turning to more orders
At the end of January, TradeWinds reported that a deal for two firm and two optional 13,000-teu units was being lined up for about $640m.
Shipbuilding sources said the reborn Singaporean outfit was then set to turn its attention to contracting midsize newbuildings once it finalised this transaction.
PIL last ordered new ships in 2015, when it contracted Yangzijiang Shipbuilding to build 12 vessels of 11,900 teu at a cost of more than $100m per ship.
The shipowner is now reportedly keen to order a series of dual-fuelled 7,000-teu container ships.
Major refinancing
PIL was established in 1967 and was privately owned by the Teo family until last year when the financially cash-strapped company underwent a major restructuring.
The restructure saw Heliconia Capital Management — a subsidiary of state-owned investment company Temasek — take a majority stake of the liner outfit by investing $600m.
Online database VesselsValue shows PIL sold 24 vessels in 2020 before Heliconia’s bailout. It sold nine ships last year, of which two were multipurpose vessels and one a supramax bulk carrier.
In December PIL reduced its debt by $1bn, by making an early payment to creditors that were subject to the scheme of arrangement which the company entered into as part of its restructuring in the first quarter of 2021.
