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Zodiac Maritime, linked to Israeli billionaire, philanthropist, and art collector Eyal Ofer, has ordered eight 6,000 TEU class containerships from Hengli Shipbuilding.
Alphaliner believes that the figure of eight units actually refers to four vessels that were already registered for Zodiac, to which another four orders (probably converted options) have now been added.
Initially, the consultancy understood that Zodiac had contracted four 6,400 TEU vessels with the Dalian-based Hengli shipyard, while recent rumors suggest that the company has expanded the order to eight ships.
"Brokerage sources claim that (at least some of) the vessels have secured long-term charter contracts in advance with Cosco Group," the entity reported.
Zodiac's new vessels are believed to be units with a large capacity for refrigerated containers, with about 1,300 plugs.
"Hengli is expected to build (a variant of) the popular Maric Hercules 6000 model, which features ultra-compact dimensions of 240 meters in length and 42.8 meters in beam (17 rows)," Alphaliner indicated.
"Depending on the owner and/or charterer, this type of vessel is sometimes described as a 6,000 TEU vessel, while others claim it has a capacity of more than 6,400 TEU," it added.
The consultancy specified that "most likely, all Maric Hercules 6000 vessels will be quite similar in design, and the difference of more than 400 TEU in cargo capacity is solely due to whether the general arrangement plan assumes eight or nine tiers of containers on deck," it added.
Zodiac reportedly managed to secure relatively early delivery slots for late 2028 and early 2029.
"No price has been reported, but base models of the Maric Hercules 6000 type would normally cost a little over 80 million dollars per vessel; however, high-reefer units with early delivery could secure a premium and be in the range of 83 to 84 million dollars," Alphaliner concluded.
