German shipowner Ernst Russ has joined forces with Icelandic carrier Eimskip to add new tonnage to their joint venture ElbFeeder.

The joint venture， majority owned by Frankfurt-listed Ernst Russ， has contracted China Merchants Jin Ling Shipyard (Nanjing) for two 2，280 teu containerships， with options for two more. Deliveries are scheduled for the second half of 2028. The confirmed units will take ElbFeeder’s fleet to nine vessels， excluding options.

The new ships will be deployed on Eimskip’s Blue Line service linking Reykjavík， Rotterdam and Teesport under a 10-year charter， becoming the largest units in the Icelandic company’s fleet.

Designed for North Atlantic operations， the vessels will feature optimised hulls， silicone coating， shore power capability and dual-fuel engines prepared for methanol and LNG.

The project will be financed through a mix of equity and debt at ElbFeeder. For Eimskip， the lease liability tied to the 10-year charter is expected to reach about $86m in 2028， partly offset by the expiry of existing Blue Line vessel leases.

Eimskip CEO Vilhelm Már Thorsteinsson said the order supports growing seafood exports and fleet renewal. Ernst Russ co-CEO Joseph Schuchmann called it a milestone， noting it is the German owner’s first newbuild order in decades.