First boxship orders placed this year

Seoul: For the first time in a year there has been a containership order. A tanker operator from the Middle East, Abu Dhabi National Tanker Company (ADNATCO) has placed two orders for 1,060 teu ships at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, Korea according to London broker Clarkson. The 13,000 dwt ships cost just over $19m apiece and will be delivered in mid-2011. Similarly sized ships would have cost $25m last year, and as much as $27.5m in the peak of the market in 2007. ADNATCO has no exposure to the box sector and it is unclear where these ships will be deployed. The news of the first boxship order comes at a time when a new boxship firm is being inaugurated in Europe. Based on the no frills airline concept, The Containership Company boasts Norwegian tycoon John Fredriksen among its founding investors. [16/10/09]