Greece’s Euroseas boxship owner, led by Aristides Pittas, has inked a deal for the construction of two specialized 2,800 teu, high-reefer containerships to be built at Huanghai Shipbuilding in China.

The Nasdaq-listed shipowner said the ships, with over 1,000 reefer plugs, are optimized for high-reefer density trades, providing increased capacity for refrigerated cargo, a trade with growing demand.

Both vessels will be built to EEDI Phase 3 and IMO NOx Tier III standards, with delivery set for June and August 2028.

Each ship is costing around $46.35m and, according to Euroseas, will be financed with a combination of debt and equity.

The newbuilding deal also provides the company with the option to order up to four additional vessels of similar size, with high reefer plugs or conventional, within a short period of time.   

“With the outlook of the global refrigerated container shipping market remaining quite positive, and the limited availability of modern vessels with significant reefer capacity, we believe that this measured diversification into the specialized high-reefer segment creates an attractive opportunity within this niche market,” noted Aristides Pittas, chairman and chief executive officer of Euroseas.

The company has a fleet of 21 vessels, including 15 feeder containerships and 6 intermediate containerships with a cargo capacity of 61,144 teu.

After the delivery of four intermediate and two feeder containership newbuildings in 2027 and 2028, respectively, Euroseas’ fleet will consist of 27 vessels with a total carrying capacity of 84,676 teu.