South Korean feeder operator Pan Continental Shipping (PanCon Line) has ordered a 1,800TEU ship from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard.
[s2If is_user_logged_in()]Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the newbuilding contract was signed via video conferencing. The newbuilding price was not disclosed, but similar-sized newbuildings are now going for around US$27 million.
Scheduled for delivery in March 2022, the eco-friendly vessel is 172m in length, 27.4m in width, and 9.75m in height. Healthy demand for container shipping across various trade lanes is fuelling newbuilding orders.
PanCon Line stated, “Through this order, we are actively responding to the rapidly changing market conditions due to the expansion of Southeast Asian services and diversification of routes. At the same time, we’re trying to expand our routes and strengthen services in the Southeast Asian market.”
PanCon Line is ranked 79th among liner operators, with a total operating capacity of 8,651TEU, comprising six owned ships and one chartered vessel. In August 2020, the company took delivery of the 1,011TEU PanCon Harmony from Dae Sun Shipbuilding & Engineering. In April 2019, a month after ordering this vessel, PanCon Line sold the 2004-built 840TEU Eastern Express, for US$4.8 million.
PanCon Line is expected to apply for government subsidies to finance the vessels. Newbuilding subsidies were launched in 2018 as part of a broad national strategy to rejuvenate South Korea’s maritime sector. To qualify for subsidies ship owners are required to demolish or sell older vessels to overseas buyers, which are around 10% of the newbuilding price. Scrapped vessels must be at least 20 years old.
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Martina Li
Asia Corespondent
