German liner company Hapag-Lloyd is favouring a return to South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean for its next tranche of LNG dual-fuel container ship newbuildings worth over $1.2bn, leaving a question mark hanging over six undeclared optional berths in China.
Multiple industry sources said Hapag-Lloyd, which last ordered newbuildings in 2021 at the yard — then known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering — is said to have inked a letter of intent with Hanwha Ocean for six dual-fuelled 16,800-teu vessels.
