Greek shipping company Navios Maritime Partners has returned to South Korea’s HJ Shipbuilding & Construction (formerly Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction) to place orders for shipbuilding.
Navios Maritime Partners has signed a contract with HJ Shipbuilding & Construction to build two 7,900TEU container ships with a total order value of $212 million, according to Trade Winds. The new container ships will run on conventional marine fuel and is expected to be delivered in March 2027.
This is Navios Maritime Partners’ second shipbuilding order from HJ Shipbuilding & Construction this year, and also the second merchant ship order of the shipbuilder this year.
On June 20, the two sides signed the first 2+2 7900TEU methanol reserved container ship construction contract, worth about $220 million. If the option ships take effect, the total value of the four container ships is approximately $440 million, and delivery of the new vessels is expected to begin in 2026.
As one of South Korea’s major medium-sized shipbuilding companies, HJ Shipbuilding & Construction re-entered the merchant vessel market six years ago, and signed six 5,500TEU environmentally friendly container ships between 2021 and 2022, valued at about $410 million, which were all completed and delivered on May 23, 2024.
By building six ships with the same design and specifications in succession, HJ has successfully achieved the “re-build effect”, thereby maximizing construction efficiency.
At the same time, HJ Shipbuilding & Construction is committed to advancing environmentally friendly ship technology to promote carbon neutrality. In collaboration with Finnish technology group Wartsila, an 8,500TEU container ship capable of capturing and storing CO2 emissions from ships has been successfully developed.