Taiwan’s Evergreen Group (長榮集團) said yesterday it had ordered 10 ships from Samsung Heavy Industries Co for US$1.03 billion, the start of an ambitious plan to more than double its container fleet.
The first of the 10 8,000-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent) L-type container vessels is due for delivery in 2012, said Evergreen, the world’s fourth-largest shipping firm, describing the ships as “environmentally advanced” in a statement.
“The 10 ships are the beginning of a program of a new generation of container vessels that will be ordered by Evergreen Line from several shipbuilding yards in Asia,” the group said.
It said details would be made public after negotiations with the interested shipyards were complete.
Group chairman Chang Yung-fa (張榮發) told the media earlier this year that Evergreen Marine would spend more than US$5 billion to boost by 100 its current fleet of 81.
The 100 ships may cost up to NT$170 billion (US$5.3 billion), he said.
Chang was quoted late last year as saying it was a good time to start acquiring more ships as the global recession was coming to an end.
In addition to its 81 container ships, Evergreen charters another 69.
Evergreen’s order from Samsung Heavy Industries, the world’s second-largest shipyard by sales, helped the South Korean shipbuilder’s shares rise the most in almost two weeks, which stoked speculation about a pick-up in demand for container ships.
The shipbuilder announced another US$670 million deal for nine oil tankers from an unidentified customer in a statement yesterday. The deal with Evergreen may be a “flare” signaling a rebound, Samsung Heavy Industries said. The shipyard has also received requests to bid on container-ship orders from owners in Singapore, Hong Kong, South America and Greece this year after getting no inquiries last year amid the global recession.
“This rare new container-ship order is spurring optimism that the worst is over,” said Song Jae-hak, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities Co. “It’s also meaningful that Evergreen’s widely expected plan is now really materializing.”
Samsung Heavy, based in Seoul, gained 2.4 percent to 23,500 won (US$19.12) in trading in the capital, the biggest jump since June 21. Evergreen Marine (長榮海運) climbed 0.7 percent to NT$22 in Taipei.
Samsung Heavy has received US$5 billion in orders this year for 51 vessels, achieving 63 percent of an US$8 billion full-year target.
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