Tehran-based Kamal & Adel has moved into the containership sector with an order for a single 1，700 teu-class newbuild in China.

The Iranian outfit has contracted Chizhou Tianyu Shipbuilding for the vessel， priced at around $31.5m and due for delivery in 2028. Detailed specifications have not been disclosed.

Consultancy Alphaliner notes that a ship of around 1，700 teu would typically have bangkokmax or yangonmax specifications， but that Chinese second-tier yards have also regularly built non-standard designs in this size range.

Public fleet records show a business that has until now been focused largely on tugs and harbour craft. Vessels linked to the company include the Adel 4， Hani 30 and Ocean Charoite， while Malaysian builder Yong Choo Kui Shipyard records the 277 dwt tug Kamal Darya as a 2015 delivery to Kamal & Adel.

The order takes the low-profile operator into a new shipping segment. No employment details for the vessel have been disclosed.

Alphaliner suggests that， potentially， it could be deployed locally in the Persian Gulf.