German shipowner Reederei F. Laeisz GmbH has ordered six 2,790 TEU vessels to be built at the German yards of Norwegian shipbuilder Aker Yards.

The total contract value for the ships is about 245 million euros ($353 million) with delivery scheduled between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the third quarter of 2010. The contract is subject to financing.

Rostock-based F. Laeisz has four Aker-built container vessels in its fleet. The six new ships will be 225 meters long and 29.8 meters wide. They will be about 38,670 deadweight tons. Each will have 400 FEU reefer sockets and have service speeds of 22 knots.

Aker said the design of the ships will focus on environmental features such as protected fuel tanks and heavy fuel oil service tanks for low sulphur HFO.

"We are very pleased that the highly reputed F. Laeisz again has placed its confidence in us. Even if Aker Yards Merchant Vessels is strongly focusing more on specialized vessels, the container ships with new design will still be a part of our product offering," said Tom Einertsen, president of Aker's merchant vessels business.