Norwegian small and medium-sized container ship operator MPC Container Ships (MPCC) has signed a letter of intent with Hengli Heavy Industry to order two 4,350TEU container ships. The agreement also includes two option ships, according to TradeWinds.
It is said that the new ships will use traditional marine fuels, the price of a single ship is between US$59 million and US$60 million, and the first batch of new buildings is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2026. MPCC said that once the charter contract is obtained, the order will be confirmed.
MPCC’s latest financial report shows that the company has achieved solid operational and financial performance, supported by efficient operations and continued high fleet utilization.
In the second quarter of this year, its hand held orders increased to US$1.1 billion, operating income was US$130.9 million, and EBITDA was US$84.4 million. As of the end of June 2024, MPCC’s fleet consists of 55 ships with a total capacity of approximately 120,000 TEUs.
If this order takes effect, it will be the first order for small and medium-sized container ships received by Hengli Heavy Industry since its establishment.
In September this year, Hengli Heavy Industry signed a contract with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to build 10 21,000TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships, which are expected to be delivered in 2027. This is Hengli Heavy Industry’s first container ship order and its first dual-fuel powered ship order.
Since the value of the order has not yet been announced, referring to Clarksons data, the price of a new ship of 22,000TEU-24,000TEU was US$273 million at that time, and the total value of MSC’s 10 new ship orders was approximately US$2.73 billion.