Germany’s Hartmann Group has ordered up to six 3,500TEU ships at Chinese ship builder Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering, the first time in 14 years that it has commissioned container ships.
The orders at Taizhou Sanfu comprise three firm units, with options for three more vessels. The LNG-fuelled newbuildings, reportedly priced at US$62 million each, are understood to be scheduled for completion in 2024.
VesselsValue indicates that this is the first time since 2007 that Hartmann has ordered container ships, with the group’s recent newbuilding orders focused on the liquefied petroleum gas/ethylene and dry bulk segments.
Hartmann exited the shortsea segment and closed its intra-Asia container shipping arm, Hartmann Asia Container Line, when the market tanked after the global financial crisis in 2008.
However, Hartmann remains active in the container segment as a tonnage provider. Its two container ships, the 1,114TEU Seaboard Ocean and Seaboard Ranger are now chartered to US-based Seaboard Marine, which operates liner services in the Americas.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
