Korea’s premier shipbuilding conglomerate HD Hyundai has secured an order for four large container ships from Sinokor Merchant Marine. Continuing its solid order momentum this year, HD Hyundai is enhancing its competitiveness through differentiated eco-friendly shipbuilding technologies.
According to Norwegian shipping outlet TradeWinds on July 9, HD Hyundai has signed a contract with Sinokor for the construction of four 13,000 TEU Neo-Panamax class container ships. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will build two vessels, while HD Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries will construct the remaining two, with delivery scheduled for 2028.
The newbuilds will be equipped with scrubbers to comply with environmental regulations set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Each vessel is priced at approximately $152 million, bringing the total contract value to $611 million.
HD Hyundai had been in negotiations with Sinokor over the container ship order. Although the order was initially announced as coming from an Oceania-based shipping company, it has now been confirmed to be Sinokor.
Sinokor has been expanding its fleet by placing multiple orders with HD Hyundai. In 2022, the company ordered six 8,000 TEU container ships from HD Hyundai Heavy Industries for deployment on new shipping routes.
In the same year, it ordered four 2,800 TEU vessels in January and two 1,000 TEU feeder ships in February, totaling 12 newbuilds in 2022 alone. Prior to that, in 2021, Sinokor placed an order for twelve 1,900 TEU container ships with HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard.
Sinokor is currently the world’s 19th largest liner operator, with a fleet of 75 vessels and a total capacity of 141,085 TEU. The company operates 72 owned vessels and three chartered ships. It also has four newbuilds on order totaling 52,000 TEU.
HD Hyundai is steadily securing orders in the eco-friendly ship market thanks to its advanced technological capabilities. Including this contract, HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering has won orders for a total of 80 vessels worth $11.11 billion, achieving 61.5% of its annual order target of $18.05 billion.
