Hyundai breaks boxship order drought

A Middle East oil tanker operator has ordered the first container ship order anywhere in the world since October 2008.

The state-owned Abu Dhabi National Tanker Company has placed an order for two gearless 1,060 TEU container ships with South Korea?s Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, according to London shipbroker Clarkson.

This is the first boxship order placed worldwide since October 2008 and the shipping company is paying just over $19 million for each of the 13,000 dwt vessels which are due for delivery in June and July 2011.

The company negotiated a significant discount on the price, with similar sized vessels quoted at $25 million at the end of 2008 and $27.5 million in December 2007 when orders for box ships were at a peak.

It is not known where ADNATCO will deploy the ships as it has no presence in the container market, with its previous orders focused on product tankers and bulk carriers.