Greek owner Minerva Dry has placed an order for three 3,000 TEU containerships at Penglai Zhongbai Jinglu Ship Industry in China, marking its largest boxship investment to date, reported Singapore's Splash 247.

The vessels are scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2028. Brokers said the slots, valued at around US$45 million each, were previously held by Songa Box but became available after negotiations collapsed.

Songa Box, backed by Norwegian owner Arne Blystad, is now linked to a letter of intent with Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering for two firm and two optional vessels in a similar TEU range.

Minerva's newbuilds represent a scale-up from its current focus on 1,800-TEU feeder vessels. The company already has four such ships on order at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Huanghai Shipbuilding, with deliveries also set for 2027-2028.

Minerva Dry, part of the Minerva Marine group, began diversifying into container shipping in 2022. Since then, it has spent over $250 million acquiring eight secondhand containerships in the 1,780 - 2,430-TEU range.