Two shipyards in South Korea have signed container ship newbuilding contracts worth more than $1.2bn.
In a regulatory disclosure, Samsung Heavy Industries and HJ Shipbuilding & Construction (HJSC) announced that they have secured an order for four ships each.
Samsung said it has struck a deal with an Asian shipowner for four 16,000-teu vessels worth KRW 1.098trn ($784m) or $196m each.
The Koje shipyard did not reveal the buyer’s name, but shipbuilding sources said Taiwan’s Wan Hai Lines was behind the neo-panamax series, which is scheduled to be delivered by December 2027.
Shipbuilding brokers said they will be conventionally powered but methanol-ready.
Meanwhile, Busan-based HJSC disclosed that it has secured an order for four 7,900-teu boxships from a European company for delivery between the third quarter of 2026 and late 2027.
It said the contract value for the quartet is KRW 606.7bn ($434m) or $108.5m per ship.
HJSC did not disclose the fuel choice, but said the design is the same as for four vessels ordered there in June.
Angeliki Frangou-led Navios Maritime Partners was reportedly behind that June deal, ordering the methanol-ready newbuildings to be delivered in 2026.
Navios’ boxships, costing $106m each, will be fitted with scrubbers.
HJSC said it has signed newbuilding contracts this year worth a total of KRW 1.2trn. The yard expects its productivity and profitability to increase by building repeat-design ships.
SHI said the latest order brings the number of vessels it has contracted this year to 33, with a cumulative value of $6.79bn. It has so far achieved 70% of its annual target of $9.7bn.
