Arne Blystad-backed Songa Box has ordered two 1，300 teu containerships in China， with options that could lift the series to six vessels and its value to around $180m.

The contract was signed with Hubei Guangji Green Energy Shipbuilding， with industry sources putting the price at about $30m per ship. Delivery dates and charter arrangements have not been disclosed.

The vessels are based on a design from the Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute and will be built to Korean Register class. The yard said the design incorporates an optimised hull， lighter construction and a more efficient propulsion system， but did not disclose the fuel specification.

The order is only the second newbuilding contract announced by Guangji this year. The state-backed yard entered the export market in June with three firm 930 teu feeders and three options for Dubai’s Emarat Maritime.

Located at Wuxue on the Yangtze River， Guangji is being developed through an RMB3.5bn ($488m) shipbuilding project designed for annual output of up to 1m dwt. The facility has 10 building slipways and has targeted capacity of around 30 containerships or bulkers a year.

Songa Box currently operates 10 feeders ranging from 1，740 teu to 2，872 teu. Blystad Group’s fleet list also shows six 3，200 teu newbuildings， likely from Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering， scheduled for delivery during 2027 and 2028. Including the Guangji ships， Songa Box now has eight firm newbuildings， with options that could take its pipeline to 12 vessels.

Blystad established Songa Box after selling Songa Container and its 11 ships to MPC Container Ships for $210m in 2021. The new vehicle subsequently contracted three ships of around 1，800 teu at Huanghai Shipbuilding， one of which was sold to AD Ports subsidiary Safeen Feeders before delivery.

More recently， Songa Box sold its 2007-built 1，732 teu Songa Wulf to Swiss liner giant MSC for a reported $19.5m.