KSOE nets order for 6 containerships

South Korean shipbuilding heavyweight Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (KSOE) has won orders for a total of six containerships worth approximately $818.4 million (KRW 891 billion).

The identity of the Asian-based shipowner behind the order was not disclosed.

According to Yonhap, the ships will feature 15,000 TEU in carrying capacity.

The shipbuilder said that its subsidiary Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. will build two vessels from the batch worth KRW 297 billion.

Its other subsidiary, Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., will build four units from the series worth KRW 594 billion.

The vessels are slated for delivery in 2023, KSOE said.

The contract is being reported as orders, especially in the boxship sector, are starting to pick up after a very quiet ordering activity for most of 2020 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on investments.

South Korean shipbuilders accounted for a very large portion of these orders especially in the final months of last year, having reported a flurry of orders for LNG carriers as well as VLCCs and ULCVs.

To remind, in the last ten days of December South Korean shipyards reported a surge in LNG carrier orders.

Namely, since 21 December, Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) secured orders for the construction of eight LNG carriers and Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) for nine LNG carriers.

For 2020, KSOE’s units won orders for 116 ships worth around $10 billion, inching close to its $11 billion target. For 2021, the shipbuilder increased its target to a combined $14.9 billion, Yonhap reports.