EPS to spend more than $2.45 billion to expand its fleet of containerships
Singapore’s East Pacific Shipping (EPS) is spending more than $2.45 billion to order up to 12 LNG dual-fuel containerships at a cost of $204 million each, iMarine reported.
EPS has signed an order for eight 18,000 TEU containerships with New Times Shipbuilding, with options for four more units. EPS CEO Cyril Ducau has confirmed this order. In addition, industry sources said that the order was placed by EPS under a charter with France’s CMA CGM.
According to statistics, last month alone, EPS confirmed a number of orders in Chinese shipyards. These include: four 111,000 dwt LNG dual-fuel product tankers with Guangzhou Shipbuilding International (GSI); 4+2+2 MR product tankers with Mawei Shipbuilding and Southeast Shipbuilding; 4+4 5,500 CEU dual-fuel PCTCs with Mawei Shipbuilding and Xiamen Shipbuilding Heavy Industry; 2+2 5,500 CEU dual-fuel PCTCs with China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (Nanjing) (CMJL (Nanjing)); and 114,000 dwt product tanker/crude oil tanker with Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS).
It is worth mentioning that on July 3, SFL, a subsidiary of Norwegian ship king John Fredriksen, announced on its official website that it had confirmed an order for five LNG dual-fuel 16,800 TEU containerships.
These 16,800 TEU containerships will reportedly feature LNG dual-fuel propulsion systems with the latest features in fuel efficiency and cargo loading optimization. These five new ships will cost approximately $1 billion, with individual vessel prices of approximately $200 million, and will be delivered from 2028 onwards.