STX, the Korean shipyard, said it has received an order from a European shipowner, believed to be Greek, for nine 12,400-TEU ships worth $1.4 billion for delivery by November 2011.

Separately, Chile's CSAV announced it has ordered four vessels of around 12,000 TEUs for $640 million.
Like contracts for dozens of 12,000- to 13,000-TEU vessels signed over the past six months, the latest orders are driven by the buoyant Asia-Europe trade, which is growing at an annual rate of 20 percent with no signs of slowdown.

The demand for ships is underscored by the fact that the new orders were booked during a seasonally slow time for shipyards. "Despite it being European summer holidays, there is no shortage of activity from the shipyards," said Clarkson, the leading London shipbroker. "Plus, there are a healthy number of buyers."
Containerships dominate the high level of inquiries, Clarkson says.

The latest burst of orders follows a frantic pace of contracts in July when ocean carriers and charter shipowners signed up for 500,000 TEUs of capacity, a record for any month, Clarkson said.

The fully cellular orderbook at the start of August stood at 5.737 million TEUs, equivalent to 56.2 percent of the existing fleet, Clarkson calculates.