German owner Reederei Nord has gone back to the newbuilding market for two feeder boxships after rekindling its relationship with CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding.
Shipbuilding sources said Reederei Nord is “an old client of Huangpu Wenchong”. The company has struck a newbuilding deal with the Chinese shipbuilder for two 1,900-teu vessels.
The last time Reederei Nord ordered new ships there was about 10 years ago, when it contracted the state-owned shipyard to build three 2,500-teu feeder vessels.
The trio were the Mercosul Itajai (built 2015) and the Maersk Bahamas and Maersk Bermuda (both built 2016).
Reederei Nord’s previous newbuilding deal with Huangpu Wenchong, then Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard, also marked its first shipbuilding contract in seven years.
In 2016, it commissioned Guangzhou Wenchong and AVIC Weihai Shipyard to build a series of 2,500-teu vessels.
Total pegged at $64m
The price of Reederei Nord’s latest two newbuildings at Huangpu Wenchong is unknown. But one shipbuilding broker suggested the vessels could cost at least $32m each.
Reederei Nord is scheduled to take delivery of the pair in 2025.
Reederei Nord has a fleet of 37 vessels on the water comprising 12 tankers, 10 bulk carriers and 15 feeder container ships.
Huangpu Wenchong is one of the shipyards under the control of China State Shipbuilding Corp. Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network lists the shipbuilder with 77 newbuildings on its orderbook, with the bulk being feeder container ships.
Evergreen Marine, Schoeller Holdings, Briese Schiffahrt and CA Shipping are some of the liner companies that have newbuildings booked there.
The design of the 1,900-teu boxships was developed by the shipyard. They will be built to meet the International Maritime Organization’s Tier III NOx standards and the Energy Efficiency Design Index’s Phase 3 specifications and are a new generation of green, environmentally friendly, energy-saving ship type.
Officials at Huangpu Wenchong and Reederei Nord were not available for comment at the time of writing
