K Shipbuilding received an order for eight 8,000TEU LNG-Powered Container Ships

South Korea’s K Shipbuilding (formerly STX Shipbuilding & Marine), which was acquired and renamed by South Korean private equity fund KHI, continues to receive orders. According to Korean industry news, South Korea’s K Shipbuilding has recently received an order for eight 8,000TEU-class LNG-powered dual-fuel neo-Panamax container ships, with a total contract value of about US$1.04 billion. This is also the second type of environmentally friendly ship product launched by K Shipbuilding.

It is reported that these new ships were ordered by K Shipbuilding for the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s largest container shipping company, and Seaspan Corporation, the world’s largest independent container ship owner. The eight new ships are scheduled to be delivered to shipowners in the second half of 2024 and in 2025.

Previously, on May 18, Seaspa announced the order to build 4 ultra-modern 7700TEU dual-fuel container ships and signed a long-term charter contract with a leading global container shipping company. The 4 new ships will begin to perform the charter after delivery. Although Seaspan did not disclose the specific information of the shipyard and the charterer at the time, it is said that the order was undertaken by K Shipbuilding, and the new ships will be leased to MSC.

According to industry insiders in South Korea, Neo-Panamax container ships with a loading capacity of 8,000-15,000 TEU are the most active ship types in the shipbuilding market in recent years. This type of ship can pass through the expanded Neo-Panama Canal and has a relatively wide range of operating routes. It is mainly configured in the Far East to Europe routes, Pacific routes, and some North-South routes. In 2021, a total of 541 new container ships of 4.194 million TEU were traded around the world, of which 172 neo-Panamax container ships accounted for 2.51 million TEU, accounting for 59.8%, while 22 super-Panamax container ships above 17,000 TEU accounted for 525,000 TEU, accounting for 59.8%. Only 12.5%.

It is reported that the eight 8,000TEU-class LNG-powered dual-fuel container ships are the first container ship orders undertaken by K Shipbuilding since its name change in July last year, and it is also the first time that the company has built LNG-powered container ships. In January this year, K Shipbuilding and Donghwa Entec, a Korean marine equipment manufacturer, signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop an 8,000TEU-class LNG-powered container ship. The two parties will build a cooperation system through technological development in the field of shipbuilding and marine, and strengthen their competitiveness in the field of medium-sized environmentally friendly ships.

K Shipbuilding received the first order for LNG dual-fuel powered ships in September last year, officially entering the environmental protection ship market. At that time, K Shipbuilding and the Dutch Louis-Dreyfus Company (LDC) signed a construction contract for 1+1 50,000-ton LNG-powered dual-fuel MR product oil/chemical tanker, with a single ship cost of about 4,600 yuan. The first ship will be delivered in the second quarter of 2024. This is the first time that K Shipbuilding has signed a new building contract for a dual-fuel-powered ship, and it is also the first dual-fuel-powered ship of the Louis Dreyfus Group.

In addition to continuously developing the environmentally friendly ship market, K Shipbuilding also plans to enter the field of smart ships and even autonomous ship construction. In October last year, K Shipbuilding and Norway’s Kongsberg Digital signed a digital technology cooperation business intent agreement (MOU). The two parties will share and apply the intelligent shipbuilding technology and the intelligent ship platform technology of the core technology of autonomous ships. The head of K Shipbuilding technology department said that this provides the company with an opportunity to narrow the gap with large shipbuilding enterprises in the field of digital technology. The company will transform into a shipbuilding enterprise that builds intelligent autonomous ships through continuous future environmental protection technology development. (Wang Chu)

Source: eworldship

8艘逾10亿美元订单！这家“新船厂”重获新生

被韩国私募股权基金KHI收购更名的韩国K造船（原STX造船海洋）订单不断。

据韩国业界消息，韩国K造船（原STX造船海洋）近日接获了8艘8000TEU级LNG动力双燃料新巴拿马型集装箱船订单，合同总金额约10.4亿美元。这也是K造船推出的第二型环保船舶产品。

据悉，在K造船下单订造这批新船的是全球最大集运公司地中海航运（MSC）和全球最大独立集装箱船船东Seaspan Corporation，分别订造了4艘，单船造价为1.3亿美元。这8艘新船计划在2024年下半年以及2025年陆续交付船东。

此前， Seaspa在5月18日宣布订造4艘超现代化7700TEU双燃料集装箱船，并与一家全球领先的集运公司签订了长期租船合同，4艘新船将在交付后开始履行租约。虽然Seaspan当时没有透露船厂和租船方的具体信息，但据称这份订单由K造船承接，新船将全部租赁给地中海航运。

韩国业界人士表示，装箱量在8000-15000TEU的新巴拿马型集装箱船是近年来造船市场上成交最为活跃的船型，该型船能够通过扩建后的新巴拿马运河，运营航线相对广泛，主要配置在远东至欧洲航线、太平洋航线和一些南北航线上。2021年全球集装箱船新船成交共计541艘419.4万TEU，其中，新巴拿马型集装箱船172艘251万TEU，占比达到59.8%，而17000TEU以上超巴拿马型集装箱船22艘52.5万TEU，占比仅12.5%。

据悉，这8艘8000TEU级LNG动双燃料集装箱船是K造船自去年7月更名后承接的首份集装箱船订单，也是该公司首次建造LNG动力集装箱船。今年1月，K造船已经与韩国船用设备制造企业东和恩泰（Donghwa Entec）签订了合作开发8000TEU级LNG动力集装箱船的谅解备忘录。双方将在造船海洋领域通过技术开发构建合作体系，强化在中型环保船舶领域的竞争力。

K造船于去年9月首次承接了LNG双燃料动力船订单，正式进军环保船舶市场。当时，K造船与荷兰路易达孚集团(Louis-Dreyfus Company，LDC)签订了1+1艘5万吨级LNG动力双燃料MR型成品油/化学品船的建造合同，单船造价约为4600万美元，首制船将在2024年第二季度交付。这是K造船首次签订双燃料动力船的新造船合同，也是路易达孚集团的第一艘双燃料动力船舶。

除了不断开拓环保船舶市场外，K造船还计划进军智能船舶乃至自主航行船舶建造领域。去年10月，K造船与挪威康士伯数字公司（kongsberg Digital）签署了数字技术合作业务意向协议(MOU)。双方将共享和应用智能船舶建造技术、自主航行船舶核心技术的智能船舶平台技术。k造船技术部门负责人表示，这为公司提供了缩小与大型造船企业在数字技术领域差距的契机。该公司将通过持续的未来环保技术开发，转变为建造智能自主航行船舶的造船企业。（王楚）

来源：国际船舶网