Idan Ofer’s Eastern Pacific Shipping has chartered four newbuild LNG-powered containerships to US shipping and logistics company Crowley.
EPS ordered these 1,400-teu vessels at South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo with delivery in 2025.
Hyundai Mipo’s parent KSOE revealed this order on Monday saying that the contract also includes an option for two additional vessels.
Following delivery in 2025, the LNG dual-fuel vessels would go on long-term charters to Crowley, Singapore-based EPS said in a statement without revealing the duration of the contracts.
Each vessel would have capacity for 1,400 TEUs (20-foot container equivalent units) and would feature 300 refrigerated unit plugs to reliably transport perishable cargo, according to EPS.
In addition, these vessels would be fitted with high-pressure ME-GI engines from MAN Energy Solutions, reducing methane slippage to “negligible levels and making these vessels the most environmentally efficient in their category,” EPS said.
Operating under a long-term time charter to Crowley, the ships would expand Crowley’s fleet and supply chain capabilities connecting US markets to Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, it said.
Crowley already owns LNG-powered combination container/roll-on roll-off (ConRo) vessels, and has also teamed up with a unit of LNG giant Shell regarding the construction and charter of what they say would be the nation’s largest LNG bunkering barge on the US East Coast.
On the other side, EPS is building a huge fleet of LNG-powered containerships, dry bulk, and tanker vessels.
“We are excited to develop our US market footprint through these long-term time charters with such a reputable partner,” EPS CEO Cyril Ducau said in the statement.
“Once delivered, these vessels will be IMO 2030 compliant five years ahead of schedule and will play an important role as the world and industry transition to cleaner energy sources,” he said.