Japan’s Imabari Shipbuilding is poised to seal its first LNG dual-fuel ultra-large container ship order at a record price for the sector.

The Higaki family-controlled shipyard is lining up contracts for a total of four 23,000-teu newbuildings at between $255m and $260m per ship.

By comparison, shipyards are said to be seeking about $235m for 175,000-cbm LNG carrier newbuildings, which are typically the most expensive ship type to contract.