The Hong Kong-listed owner is shelling out $425m for five8,800-teu vessels at New Times Shipbuilding (NTS) in China for delivery in 2015,it announced today.

It follows a contract signed at Dalian Shipbuilding IndustryCorp (DSIC) earlier this month for seven vessels of the same size with the same$85m pricetag.

MSC will take all of the ships on 17-year charters at$25,000 per day apiece and is obliged to purchase them for $21.5m