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The container ship owner, a subsidiary of US-listed Atlas Corp, said the cancellation involves four 7,700-TEU, dual-fuel newbuildings. Seaspan did not explain the reason for tearing up the contracts, other than to say that the shipyard failed to live up to some terms of the deal.

The company said in an announcement that it had cancelled the order for the newbuilds "due to certain conditions in the contracts not being fulfiled by the counterparty, the contracts have become null and void. Seaspan has notified the relevant parties and has reserved its rights to claim against the counterparty in relation to the contracts."

The original order, which was announced in May, was for four 7,700 TEU dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) containerships from an undisclosed "major" shipyard.

The newbuilds, which had been scheduled for delivery in the third and fourth quarters of 2024, were lined up to be chartered by a "leading global liner customer", reports New York's MarineLink.