Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) of South Korea has secured an order for the construction of six ultra large container vessels (ULCVs), the shipbuilder said.
The contract is worth KRW 1.118 trillion (USD 982.6 million), according to SHI.
The Korean shipbuilder said the order was placed by a European shipowner but did not disclose its identity.
Furthermore, the value of the contract was said to be dependent upon the owner’s choice of available propulsion systems for the ships, which was yet to be decided.
The newbuildings are slated for delivery by the end of December 2019.
Previous reports tied SHI to an order by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) for eleven 22,000 TEU containerships.
Namely, Samsung was supposed to build six ships from the batch while its compatriot counterpart Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) would be in charge of constructing 5 units.
Last week, DSME confirmed it received an order for five containerships, also from an unidentified European owner. DSME said the five ships have been contracted for KRW 926.6 billion (USD 817 million).
As informed by Daewoo, the contract includes the same propulsion options as the ones mentioned today by SHI, which might indicate the two orders are linked.
The five ships are slated for delivery by March 2020.
Nevertheless, MSC Spokesperson said last week in a statement to World Maritime News that eleven 22,000 TEU containerships would be built by DSME.
World Maritime News Staff