Taiwanese container shipping company Wan Hai Lines has placed an order for the construction of four 13,000 TEU containerships at South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries.
The four boxships are slated to start delivery in the second quarter of 2023.
Samsung confirmed the deal on the stock exchange, adding that the value of the contract stood at KRW 529 billion (approximately $478 million).
“This new shipbuilding contract is the company’s latest fleet upsizing plan, so as to ensure that the company’s vessel fleet is able to maintain competitive and support continuous market development. Eventually, the company aims to deliver better service quality to its customers by their recent vessel renewal plan,” Wan Hai Lines said commenting on the order.
The latest contract brings Wan Hai’s 13,000 TEU ordering tally to 9 ships for which the Taiwanese container shipping company assigned up to $ 1.035 billion in March 2021.
To remind, five newbuilds of the same size were ordered two months ago from Hyundai Heavy Industries for KRW 637 billion ($ 563 million).
The containerships are slated to start delivery in the first quarter of 2023, with the last newbuild set to be completed by the end of November 2023.
The 13,000 TEU ships will be the biggest ones in the company’s fleet in terms of capacity, outstripping the current 11,923 TEU containerships.
The company’s fleet renewal push is seen as Wan Hai’s attempt of solidifying its position as the largest intra-Asian carrier and bolster its global standing with the aim of becoming the world’s 10th largest container carrier.