BUSAN -- South Korean shipyard HJ Shipbuilding & Construction Co. said Thursday it has clinched a $240 million order to build two eco-friendly container carriers for a European shipper.

HJ Shipbuilding & Construction said it will build the 7,700 twenty-foot equivalent unit container vessels with liquefied natural gas duel-fuel engines at its shipyard in this southeastern port and deliver them to the undisclosed shipping company from late 2024.

HJ Shipbuilding & Construction, formerly Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co., said the contract contains an option to construct two more container carriers of the same size.

If the option goes into effect, HJ Shipbuilding & Construction's container carrier order backlog would rise to 10 ships, with the value of this year's orders reaching 800 billion won ($616 million), or more than half its yearly target.

The shipyard garnered a $150 million order to build two 5,500-TEU container carriers for a European shipper in March this year, about five months after obtaining a $261 million deal to build four container carriers for the same firm.

In April 2021, a consortium led by local builder Dongbu Corp. acquired a controlling stake in Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction from the latter's creditors led by the state-run Korea Development Bank. (Yonhap)