SIMIC

The 16,000 TEU container ships will be powered by methanol, and Maersk expects to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 1 million tonnes a year with the use of the ships, it said.

It is the first time to install a methanol-powered engine in a large container ship, and the Denmark-based shipping firm is expected to place more orders for methanol and other alternative fuel-powered ships from Korea shipbuilding, a company spokesman said, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

On Tuesday, another affiliate Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries said it has received a KWR196.5 billion deal to build two liquefied natural gas carriers for an unidentified Asian shipping company by June 2024.

With the latest orders, Korea Shipbuilding, which also has Hyundai Mipo Dockyard under its wing, has achieved $19.2 billion worth of orders so far this year, far exceeding its annual order target of $14.9 billion.

As of June, Korea Shipbuilding had $32.8 billion, or 350 ships, in order backlog, which will keep the three shipyards busy for two-and-a- half years.