Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS), controlled by Idan Ofer, has been linked by shipbuilding sources to an order for four midsize containerships at Japan’s Imabari Shipbuilding, a rare Japanese addition to one of the industry’s largest newbuilding programmes.
The order
- Ships: four midsize containerships at Imabari; prices and delivery dates have not been disclosed.
- First in years: it would be EPS’s first reported containership order in Japan in four years, after a run of orders at Chinese yards.
- Orderbook: the deal would lift EPS’s containership orderbook to more than 65 vessels, worth over $5.5 billion.
Earlier orders linked to EPS include eight 6,000 TEU ships at Hengli Heavy Industry and China Merchants yards, priced at close to $80 million each with scrubbers and high reefer capacity for delivery in 2027–2029, and six 1,800 TEU feeders at China Merchants Jinling at around $30 million each.
Japan’s shipbuilding comeback
The order comes as Japan tries to win back ground lost to China and South Korea. Tokyo aims to double annual shipbuilding capacity from about 9 million gross tonnes to 18 million by 2035.
- In September, the government approved eight shipyard investment programmes worth about ¥900 billion ($5.83 billion), including up to ¥311 billion ($2 billion) of state support for docks, automation and cranes.
- An Imabari-led group is eligible for up to ¥113.8 billion ($727 million).
- Imabari took a 60% stake in Japan Marine United earlier this year, creating Japan’s largest shipbuilding group and the world’s fourth-largest by tonnage.
Japanese yards are almost fully booked, with industry figures showing very few construction slots available before 2029.
Based on reporting by Splash247, 4 November 2026.
Photo: Representative image: a shipyard in Dalian, China; not Imabari Shipbuilding. Tyg728 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
