Ship Finance International (SFI) has agreed to build four 8,700 TEU newbuilding container vessels at a major shipyard in Korea.
The company says that the contract price is attractive and the vessels are scheduled to be delivered in 4Q 2014 and 1Q 2015.
Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of Ship Finance Management AS, said in a comment: "We are very pleased to further expand our presence in the segment with these state-of-the-art containerships. The vessels will be built to very high specifications, and will include the latest in eco-design features giving them a very competitive operational performance. The vessels will be marketed for long-term charters, and we have already seen firm interest from leading container operators."
Ship Finance is a major ship owning company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Including newbuildings, they have a fleet of 69 vessels, including 24 crude oil tankers (VLCC and Suezmax), two chemical tankers, 12 drybulk carriers, 19 container vessels, including eight newbuildings, six offshore supply vessels, one jack-up drilling rig, one ultra-deepwater drillship, two ultra-deepwater semi-submersible drilling rigs and two car carriers. The fleet is one of the largest in the world and most of the vessels are employed on long-term charters.