It ditched the deals signed in late 2013 for two 210,000-dwt carriers that were attached to long-term charters, as the charterer has not managed to give any guarantees for the cargo.

The value of the newbuildings is KRW 56.5bn ($52.6m) each at China’s Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry.

Delivery of the units was slated in January 2017.

After selling its LNG business last year, HMM has been linked to a $550m sale of its bulk carrier wing to Taiwanese securities house Yuanta.

HMM