Greek shipowner George Economou has made a surprise move in the shipbuilding market by ordering a series of container vessels.
The deal marks Economou’s return to the sector after four years and his first-ever newbuilding order for boxships — excluding an aborted transaction in China about a decade ago.
According to several shipbuilding and market sources, Economou’s TMS Group is behind the order for four 7,900-teu newbuildings announced on Monday by HJ Shipbuilding & Construction (HJSC).
The Busan-based shipyard disclosed it had secured the neo-panamax quartet from a European company in a deal worth KRW 606.7bn ($434m), or $108.5m per ship.
Several container ship and shipbuilding sources are identifying TMS as HJSC’s counterparty, on the back of a charter to a European liner company.
To judge from past Economou practice, the order is not a one-off opportunistic move but more likely represents a strategic investment to build up a long-term presence in the sector.
Officials at HJSC and TMS have been contacted for comment.
The boxships are slated to be delivered between the third quarter of 2026 and the last quarter of 2027.
This is deemed to be “early” as most shipyards have sold out their 2027 berths and offering late 2028 delivery.
The ships will be methanol-ready and fitted with scrubbers.
The quartet is the second newbuilding contract inked at HJSC this year.
The earlier deal was from Angeliki Frangou-led Navios Maritime Partners, which ordered the same number of vessels, of the same type and size.
According to the Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network, the orderbook for container ships with a capacity between 7,900 teu and 9,200 teu is at about 120 units. Most of them are dual-fuelled.
Shipping companies that have ordered these neo-panamax boxships include Hapag-Lloyd, Pacific International Lines, Seaspan Corp and Danaos Corp.
One shipbuilding broker is expecting demand for such newbuildings to be slowing down due to the large orderbook.
On the other hand, he believes there will be an uptick in orders for feeder container vessels of between 2,800 teu and 5,000 teu, as this fleet needs to be renewed.
Nothing if not versatile
Economou is a highly versatile player who has invested in almost every type of ship in his career. His shipping group is listed with more than 100 tankers, bulk carriers and gas carriers on the water.
The Greek owner also has about 40 newbuildings under construction at shipyards in China and South Korea — from LNG and VLGC/VLAC ships to bulkers and tankers.
Economou's last known boxship investment was the 6,600-teu Miramarin (built 2010), which he sold in late 2020.
He made a short-lived foray into container ship newbuildings about a decade ago, when he swapped two newcastlemax bulkers on order at Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding for two 11,000-teu boxships.
However, the deal was cancelled and the two container ship newbuildings were eventually resold to Denmark’s Navigare and Seaspan Corp.
