Singapore’s Eastern Pacific Shipping has been linked to an order for seven ultra large containerships at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.
The seven newbuildings, featuring 15,000 TEU each, are slated for delivery between 2019 and 2022, data from Asiasis shows.
The latest order brings the company’s ULCV orderbook at the South Korean yard to 11 ships, according to VesselsValue, as four containerships from the series were ordered en bloc in summer this year.
The contract is estimated to be worth around USD 1.3 billion.
The company has 21 newbuilings under construction, including four Aframax tankers, two MR2 tankers, two MGC LPG carriers and two Ultramax bulkers.
Ordering of ultra large containerships has been on a downward trajectory over the past year, when compared to the last couple of years, mainly due to fragile market recovery, growing pressures from tonnage overcapacity and rising fuel prices. Further constraints to ordering of giant boxships stem from the expected cost rise from ensuring compliance with the impending sulphur cap in 2020.
The key rationale behind recent orders that did take place were fleet renewal, as indicated by Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), which finalized formal contracts for its twenty mega containerships with the Korea’s Big Three in September.
In order to make the ships compliant with the IMO’s sulphur cap, HMM said it would consider fitting the ships with scrubbers or LNG-fueled engines. The decision would be made following discussions with shipbuilders.
World Maritime News Staff