South Korean carrier CK Line has contracted CSSC Huangpu Wenchong to build two 6,406-TEU container ships, with options for two more, according to CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering.
The contract was signed in Guangzhou by CK Line, Huangpu Wenchong and China Shipbuilding Trading. The contracting parties did not disclose the price, delivery dates or propulsion arrangements, although the potential four-vessel programme has been valued at more than $320m.
The ships were designed by the 708th Research Institute of China State Shipbuilding Corporation. Each vessel will be 240 metres long and 42.8 metres wide, with deadweight of about 80,310 tonnes and 1,150 reefer slots.
The newbuildings will be more than twice the size of the largest vessels in CK Line’s existing fleet. The company operates about 19 feeder ships with capacities of up to 2,700 TEU.
The contract follows Huangpu Wenchong’s delivery of the 2,700-TEU sister ships *Sky Peace* and *Sky Pride* to CK Line in 2025. The pair was ordered in September 2023.
Huangpu Wenchong’s container ship portfolio includes designs of 1,900 TEU, 3,000 TEU, 4,300 TEU, 5,300 TEU and 6,400 TEU. The shipbuilder has secured orders for 26 vessels in the 6,000-TEU segment.
Seoul-based CK Line was established on 22 October 1962 and is led by chief executive Seo Sung Hoon. Its network covers more than 40 ports across East Asia, including services linking South Korea with China, Japan and Southeast Asia.
CSSC Huangpu Wenchong is a Chinese shipbuilding company within the state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation group and is 54.5371%-owned by CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering.