OOCL parent orders four 8,600-TEU ships from Chinese yard

OOCL parent orders four 8,600-TEU ships from Chinese yard Hong Kong-based Orient Overseas (International) Ltd., parent of OOCL, has ordered four 8,600-TEU ships to be built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co Ltd., the operating arm of China State Shipbuilding Corp.
   Total value of the contract is $482.8 million, and OOIL said it is arranging financing for 80 percent of the purchase price of each vessel with the balance coming from internal resources.
   The first vessel is due to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2010 with the rest arriving in the following year.
   According to Paris-based analysts AXS-Alphaliner, the order brings to 30 the number of very large containerships (VLCS) of about 8,500 TEUs ordered in China, the first of which, Xin Ya Zhou, was recently delivered to China Shipping Container Lines.