Shortsea liner player Namsung Shipping has signed up for containership newbuildings worth around $82m at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD).

The South Korean containership company's two 2,500-teu newbuildings are to be delivered in late 2023. The deal does not include optional vessels.

The feeder containerships are believed to be the largest boxships that Namsung has ordered and will be the biggest it owns.

Officials at HMD declined to comment on the shipyard's newbuilding activities, citing contract confidentiality. Namsung did not reply to emails seeking confirmation on the pair of newbuildings.

Shipbuilding sources said Namsung is paying close to $41m each for the 2,500-teu boxships. They believe the company would deploy the duo on the South East Asia trade.

Namsung's 2,500-teu newbuilding deal is its second contract with HMD this year, TradeWinds was told. In June, it ordered a single 1,600-teu vessel at the Ulsan-based yard for close to $30m. It is scheduled to take delivery of that ship in November 2022.

Namsung will also be taking delivery of two 1,000-teu newbuildings — one next month and the other in February 2022 from Dae Sun Shipbuilding & Engineering. It ordered the duo last year for a reported price of between $17m and $18m each. The two containerships will be used for a trade loop linking South Korea, China and Japan.

Namsung's website lists the company with a fleet of 20 feeder containerships of between 710 teu and 1,900 teu.

Shipbuilding sources said HMD has benefitted from strong demand for containership newbuildings. The MR tanker shipbuilding specialist is said to have contracted close to 30 feeder containership newbuildings this year.

Domestic owner Sinokor Merchant Marine was reported to have signed up for 12 units of 1,800 teu worth $360m, while US-listed Euroseas ordered two 2,800-teu newbuildings for $76m. The pair of feeder boxships was the company's first containership order since it was set up 16 years ago.

HMD was also the first shipyard in the world to have contracted methanol-fuelled containerships. Danish liner giant AP Moller-Maersk ordered a single 2,100-teu newbuilding to be delivered in mid-2023. The boxship will be fitted with a dual-fuel engine, giving it the option to run on methanol or very low-sulphur fuel oil.

HMD has already achieved its newbuilding order target of $3.5bn this year. It has so far secured contracts amounting to $4.182bn, according to the shipyard's September 2021 financial report.