A newly built container ship, ordered 20 years ago and forced into limbo during the 2008 financial crisis, has finally been delivered and put into service, marking the true restart of one of the longest-running stalled shipbuilding projects in Turkey’s shipbuilding industry.
According to shipping consultancy Alphaliner, the 917-TEU container ship “Behram Box” has been completed and delivered, and a charter agreement has been signed with Shipping Solutions (formerly Unifeeder), a subsidiary of DP World. The vessel was ordered in 2006, initially by the Um Shipyard in Turkey, and its construction spanned 20 years.
The shipbuilding contract signed by Turkey’s Um Shipyard at the time included two 917-TEU container ships; the “Behram Box,” which was recently delivered, is the first vessel in the series. Due to the impact of the global financial crisis, construction of the two new ships was forced to halt, and they remained idle at the shipyard for more than a decade.
From 2012 to 2025, the hulls of the “Behram Box” and its sister ship, the “Numan Box” (hereinafter collectively referred to as the “unfinished vessel project”), remained largely idle until demand for feeder container ship capacity surged and the charter market tightened, at which point the investors decided to resume construction of the two unfinished vessels.
Reports indicate that the owner of the abandoned ship project is Turkey’s EOS Group, with the Turkish shipyard Dentas taking over the remaining construction work.
According to Alphaliner, the abandoned ship project is considered a “ghost ship” in Turkey. Although the ship’s design and construction process date back to the mid-2000s, it has now obtained new International Maritime Organization (IMO) numbers and is classified as a vessel to be built in 2026.
The report states that the abandoned ship project is based on the “Volharding 900” design, a classic European feeder container ship type developed by the Dutch shipyard Bodewes Scheepswerf Volharding. The vessel is 153.6 meters long, has a capacity of 917 TEU, and is specifically designed for regional container shipping.
Under the plan, the first vessel, the “Behram Box,” is deployed on a liner route between Turkey and Bulgaria, connecting Ambarli with Burgas and Varna. The second vessel in the series, the “Numan Box,” is expected to be delivered shortly.
The completion of these two ships underscores the booming chartering market and the continued demand for regional container shipping capacity, and revitalizes shipbuilding projects that were once thought to be permanently shelved.