Hyundai Samho wins $216 million deal for containership duo

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries has secured an order for the construction of two containerships from an unnamed European shipowner.

The containerships are worth KRW 239 billion ($216.1 million) and are slated for delivery in 2023.

Further details about the ship design and potential fuel type were not disclosed

The contract is being reported at a very favorable time for the container shipping market, which is experiencing a major recovery from the COVID-19 demand crunch.

Industry majors like Maersk and HMM have reported record results driven by higher rates, demand rebound and lower bunker prices.

In its forecast for 2021, Maersk expects demand in Q1 to remain robust, estimating that the upsurge would normalize as bottle necks at congested ports clear out and the impact of the pandemic on the consumer spending patterns winds down.

Over the last couple of months, the market rebound has seen industry majors return to the yards after abstaining from investments for quite a while with orders for ultra large containerships.

Yesterday, Seaspan Corporation revealed an agreement with an unnamed shipyard for two 24,000 TEU newbuild containerships.

According to Seaspan, the two 24,000 TEU containerships will include emissions reduction technologies.

The ship deliveries are scheduled to begin in H1 2023. Upon completion, both conventional fuel vessels will enter 18-year charters with a global liner customer.

The order comes on the back of Hapag-Lloyd’s order for six dual-fuel 23,000+ TEU boxships from DSME.