SIMIC

Each ship will have liquefied natural gas (LNG) duel-fuel propulsion and reefer slots. The order originally began in September 2019 for six 12,000-TEU ships from South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).

The ships are expected to be delivered between August 2022 to early 2023. Each ship is valued at $137.16 million.

The orders continue to build EPS' LNG-fueled global fleet as 10 per cent of the total global order book is composed of newbuilds that are powered by alternative fuels.

There are currently 14 LNG dual-fuel containerships in operation and 39 on order or under construction.

DSME previously purchased six 23,500-TEU dual-fuel LNG-powered ultra-large containership (ULCS) vessels through a $1 billion shipbuilding contract.

Hapag-Lloyd intends to use the new ULCSs on Europe-Asia routes as part of The Alliance, including liner companies Japan's Ocean Network Express, Taiwan's Yang Ming, and South Korea's Hyundai Merchant Marine.