A French project to build a series of five eco-friendly container ships is still alive despite the shipyard cancelling the order, its backers say.
Ship designer, financier and operator Zephyr & Boree confirmed that financing problems have led South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Mipo to terminate a newbuilding order for five boxships.
The French firm had been looking to build five methanol-powered feeder container vessels at the yard, each with six wind masts to help save energy.
Zephyr & Boree co-founder and chief executive Nils Joyeux said the project has suffered from the political situation in France but it is expected to go ahead later in the year.
“We have experienced delays in closing the financing due to the political slump in France, which forces us to suspend the contract with HD Mipo, but this is only a setback,” he told TradeWinds.
“We plan to complete the financing by the end of the year and the project to build the ships with HD Mipo is still planned.”
High price
The newbuilding project raised eyebrows in May last year when the ships were ordered at a record price of KRW 414.5bn ($311m), or $62.2m apiece, which is more than 2.5 times the cost of a conventional-fuelled vessel.
The ships of between 1,200 teu and 1,300 teu were originally scheduled to be delivered by June 2026.
The order had the backing of a group of more than 20 shippers, led by French tyre manufacturer Michelin, looking to reduce carbon emissions by at least half compared with conventional transport.
The ships were earmarked to trade in a transatlantic service between Le Havre and Antwerp, and the US cities of New York and Charleston, South Carolina.
A second liner service was reported to be under consideration to serve Genoa, Fos-sur-Mer and Valencia to New York and Charleston.
Slots filled
South Korea’s HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering — the holding company for HD Mipo — appears to have had no problem in filling the slots.
On 24 September, the company revealed it had secured an order for six container ships costing KRW 403.9bn ($303.7m).
That is believed to be a series of 1,100-teu vessels for European shortsea operator CLdN.
The shipbuilder disclosed on Friday that an Asia-based company, believed to be Wan Hai Lines, has ordered four container ships worth KRW 674.6bn ($511m) or $128m apiece.
Those will be built at HD Hyundai Samho.
