Eyal Ofer-led Zodiac Maritime has exercised options for a quartet of neo-panamax containership newbuildings worth around $520m in total.

They are the first boxships that the shipowner is opting to build with dual-fuel propulsion systems that can run on LNG or conventional fuels.

Those following the newbuilding business said options were exercised on the four 15,000-teu newbuildings at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) and the ships are to be built as dual-fuel vessels at their charterer's request.