Idan Ofer's EPS taps Imabari for four boxships in rare Japan order

Eastern Pacific Shipping, the Singapore-based owner controlled by Idan Ofer, has been linked to an order for four midsize containerships at Japan's Imabari Shipbuilding — its first reported boxship order in Japan in four years.

Shipbuilding sources named EPS as the buyer of the quartet. Contract prices and delivery dates have yet to emerge. The deal, if confirmed, would take EPS's containership orderbook to more than 65 vessels worth over $5.5bn.

The order breaks a pattern. Since its last reported Japanese containership contract in 2021, EPS has concentrated its fleet expansion at Chinese yards, where slot availability and pricing have been more attractive than in capacity-constrained Japan.

How big is EPS's newbuilding programme?

Few independent owners match it. EPS has built one of the largest containership orderbooks in the market, spread across several vessel sizes.

• September 2024: EPS was linked to eight 6,000 teu vessels at Hengli Heavy Industry and China Merchants yards, with options for additional ships. Priced near $80m apiece, including scrubbers and high reefer capacity, with deliveries between 2027 and 2029.
• Earlier series: Six 1,800 teu feeders at China Merchants Jinling Shipyard, reportedly around $30m each.
• Japan, 2021: The Imabari quartet ends a four-year gap in Japanese boxship ordering.

For carriers and charterers, the pipeline matters. EPS tonnage feeds the charter market across mainstream and feeder segments, and 6,000 teu units with high reefer intake command premiums on trades where perishables capacity is tight. More midsize tonnage arriving from 2027 onward will add supply to a segment many owners have shunned in favour of neo-panamax bets.

Why Japan — and why now?

The order lands as Tokyo pushes hard to rebuild a shipbuilding industry that has lost ground to China and South Korea. The government is targeting a doubling of annual shipbuilding capacity from roughly 9m gt to 18m gt by 2035, backed by a state-supported investment drive.

In September, Japan approved eight shipyard investment programmes worth around ¥900bn ($5.83bn) in planned public and private spending, including up to ¥311bn ($2bn) in government support. The money is directed at dock expansion, automation, cranes and other production upgrades. An Imabari-led group is eligible for up to ¥113.8bn ($727m).

Imabari itself has consolidated. Its acquisition of a 60% stake in Japan Marine United earlier this year created Japan's largest shipbuilding group and the world's fourth-largest by tonnage — a scale play aimed directly at Korean and Chinese rivals.

What does it mean for the orderbook race?

Japanese capacity remains the binding constraint. Industry figures show Japanese yards hold almost no available construction slots through 2029, which makes an EPS placement at Imabari a signal: owners wanting quality Japanese tonnage must book early and likely pay for the privilege.

For Chinese yards, losing even a four-ship slice of the Ofer orderbook is minor in dollar terms but notable in direction. Hengli and China Merchants have absorbed the bulk of EPS's recent volume at prices near $80m for 6,000 teu. If Japanese subsidies translate into faster delivery slots or superior build quality at competitive prices, the competitive balance in midsize newbuilds could shift incrementally.

For shipyards and financiers, the Imabari-JMU combination plus state money gives Japan its most credible shot in two decades at reclaiming share. The 2035 target of 18m gt annual capacity implies nearly doubling output in eleven years — ambitious given the slot crunch through 2029.

Details on price and delivery for the quartet will tell more. Until then, the headline is simple: a $5.5bn orderbook just added a Japanese leg, and Tokyo's yard revival has landed a headline international customer.