TEHRAN- According to a contract signed with Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL), South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Company, Ltd. (HHI) will build mega-container vessels as well as tankers for carrying petroleum products for Iran, IRNA reported on Friday.

The contract is the first of its kind in Iran’s post-sanction era and includes construction of mega-container vessels with 14,500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) capacity and tankers with 49,000 deadweight tonnages (DWT). 

The mega-container vessels are to be built in HHI’s yard and the tankers will be constructed in Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Company’s (HMD) yard under International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards and applying Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships (NOX emission limits).

The funding for the orders would be provided by South Korean banks and financial institutions.

A Hyundai Heavy spokesman said on Monday that IRISL was in talks with the ship builder over a 10-ship order, but gave no details, WSJ reported.

The first deliveries are expected in 2018, according to the report.

IRISL hopes the containers order will give it the necessary capacity to eventually join one of three major shipping alliances that move the vast majority of global containerized cargo.

HJ/MA/MG