South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has won a contract from Zodiac Group Monaco to build four containerships.
The shipbuilding major said the contract was worth KRW 436.8 billion (USD 407 million).
The four container carriers are scheduled for delivery by July 2020. Further details of the order were not disclosed.
HHI’s announcement comes as a confirmation of the broker reports from early April. The previous reports, however, linked the shipowner to an order for five ultra-large containerships featuring 14,000 TEU.
Zodiac Maritime already has five 11,000 TEU containerships on order at Hyundai, scheduled for completion in 2019.
The five New Panamaxes were ordered in November last year and have fetched a price of USD 90 million each.
Zodiac Maritime has 132 vessels in its live fleet, including 15 newbuildings.
Hyundai had a strong year start with regard to order intake having secured orders for over 30 ships, the majority being gas carriers and large ore and container vessels.
The shipbuilder plans to keep its focus on gas carrier market amid the anticipated growth of LNG and LPG volumes coupled with the U.S.’s aggressive energy exports policy and China’s eco-friendly energy consumption campaign.
For 2018, the group is targeting an orderbook value of USD 13.2 billion, up from USD 9.9 billion from 2017.
World Maritime News Staff