Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS), owned by Israeli shipping magnate Idan Ofer, announced that it will once again cooperate with two Chinese shipbuilders to spend nearly US$1 billion to order several medium-sized container ships.
MB Shipbrokers reports that EPS has signed shipbuilding contracts with Hengli Heavy Industries and China Merchants Industry Jinling Shipyard respectively, ordering 4+2 6,000 TEU container ships from each yard. Each vessel is priced at approximately US$80 million, bringing the total value of up to 12 newbuildings to roughly US$960 million (approximately RMB 6.85 billion). The newbuildings will be equipped with scrubbers and high-capacity refrigerated cargo holds.
Sources revealed that this order was placed by EPS under an existing long-term charter agreement and is not a speculative order.
Combined with previous reports, the above 12 medium-sized container ships represent EPS’s fourth publicly announced newbuilding project this year, as well as its second collaboration with Hengli Heavy Industries and China Merchants Industry Jinling Shipyard since the start of the year.
In mid-July this year, Hengli Heavy Industries announced it had secured an order for 2+2 dual-fuel powered Suezmax LNG carriers with a deadweight tonnage of 158,000 tons. Industry sources later revealed the order originated from EPS, with each vessel costing nearly $90 million. Including the option orders, the four newbuildings are valued at approximately US$360 million and are scheduled for delivery between late 2027 and 2028.
EPS and China Merchants Industry Jinling Shipyard also disclosed their order information for this year in July. The two parties shall collaborate to build six 1,800 TEU feeder container ships, each costing approximately US$30 million. Delivery is scheduled for 2027 and 2028, with the total order value reaching US$180 million. The new vessels will utilize conventional fuel.
Including the latest announced orders, Hengli Heavy Industries and China Merchants Industry Jinling Shipyard have secured 6+4 and 10+2 new vessel orders respectively from EPS since the beginning of this year. Notably, the new vessels ordered from China Merchants Industry Jinling Shipyard in July mark the first time in four years that this shipowner has placed an order for feeder container ships.
More than a month prior to the announcement of this new medium-sized container shipbuilding project, EPS had already placed an order with Fujian Shipbuilding Industry Group’s Mawei Shipbuilding for 12+6 1,800 TEU feeder container ships, with a total value potentially reaching up to US$680 million. Based on this calculation, the price per vessel could be as high as US$37.7 million, with delivery expected between late 2027 and 2028. EPS and French shipping giant CMA CGM have signed long-term charter agreements for these new vessels, making this order non-speculative.
As one of the shipowners with the largest order book in the industry, EPS’s latest order further highlights the active market for new container ships, covering a variety of ship types from feeder container ships to 22,000TEU ultra-large container ships.
In its latest weekly report, MB Shipbrokers pointed out that at present, both Chinese and South Korean shipyards have a small number of projects entering the letter of intent stage, and other projects are under negotiation. For Chinese shipyards, shipowners’ inquiries are concentrated in the field of feeder container ships, especially those with specifications of 2800-4300 TEU, and the activity of container ships with specifications of 5000-8000 TEU is gradually increasing. In contrast, South Korean shipyards are actively bidding for ship projects with specifications of 9000, 13000 and 20000+ TEU.
MB Shipbrokers also said: “Given the current active market situation, more orders are expected to be confirmed in the near future. The demand for small and medium-sized container ships will continue to be strong, and the new ship orders for large and ultra-large container ships will also regain growth momentum.”