Navios linked to four 10,100 teu boxships at HJ Shipbuilding worth $500m
The Korean yard's Yeongdo design has now won eight orders this year; delivery is scheduled for April 2029
South Korea's HJ Shipbuilding & Construction (HJSC) has signed a contract for four 10,100 teu containerships worth KRW678.97bn, or around $500m, with a shipping company it describes only as Oceania-based. Shipbroking sources have linked the order to Navios Maritime Partners, the Angeliki Frangou-led owner.
The yard disclosed the contract, signed on 22 September, in a regulatory filing the following day. The value is equivalent to 33.9% of HJSC's sales last year, and the four ships are scheduled for delivery to the owner in April 2029. At that price each ship costs roughly $125m.
HJSC described the deal as a repeat order from an owner that had recently contracted containerships at the yard and was satisfied with the quality of the ships built. With it, the yard has secured eight containerships of the 10,000 teu class this year, all of the same design; the first was ordered in February, followed by further orders in April.
The design was developed in-house to fit the dock at the Yeongdo shipyard in Busan, and 10,000 teu is the largest class HJSC can build there. The ships use high-efficiency propulsion and hull-form technology to cut fuel consumption and emissions, carry more reefer plugs than earlier designs for refrigerated and frozen cargo, and are fitted with SOx scrubbers and a methanol-ready design in preparation for stricter IMO rules.
Building the same ship eight times lets the yard repeat work across design, materials procurement and production, which HJSC expects to improve efficiency and cost. "We will continue to pursue a selective order-taking strategy centered on profitability while steadily strengthening our competitiveness in high-efficiency, eco-friendly, high value-added container ships," said chief executive Yu Sang-cheol.
The order adds to a Navios container programme already in progress: the company took delivery this month of Navios Turquoise, the second of four 7,900 teu newbuildings. It also lands in a market where the containership orderbook has reached 45% of the fleet, its highest ratio since 2009.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 26 September 2026.
