South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has finalised a deal to build new 14,500 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) class containerships and 49,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) product / chemical carriers for the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).

Under the $650m deal, HHI will build ten ships for IRIS, reported Mehr news agency.

Newly ordered containerships feature 366m in length, 48.2m in width and 29.9m in depth.

"HHI is planning to discuss and pursue technical cooperation to develop Iran’s shipbuilding industry with a local Iranian shipbuilder."

Scheduled to be built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in Ulsan, South Korea, the product / chemical carriers will feature 183m in length, 32.2m in width and 19.1m in hight.

All the vessels will be manufactured in accordance with the latest International Maritime Organisation (IMO) tier III requirement, limiting nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emission.

HHI is planning to discuss and pursue technical cooperation to develop Iran’s shipbuilding industry with a local Iranian shipbuilder.

In February, HHI announced the production of the world’s first high-pressure selective catalytic reduction (HP SCR) system to help reduce NOx emission from two-stroke marine engines.

Capable of reducing NOx emission up to 99%, HP SCR uses ammonia as a catalyst and can operate on heavy fuel oil.

In March, HHI entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with General Electric Company (GE) for a comprehensive cooperation to develop COmbined Gas turbine Electric and Steam (GOGES) package for liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and containerships.

Image: Deal signing between Hyundai Heavy Industries and IRISL. Photo: courtesy of Hyundai Heavy Industries CO. LTD.