China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL) has ordered eight 13,500teu boxships from Shanghai Jiangnan Changxing Shipbuilding for a total US$934.4m.

The vessels are due for delivery between April and the end of December 2018, and were ordered via CSCL's Hong Kong subsidiary CSCL HK.

The Hong Kong-listed carrier will pay for the vessels in four installments of US$116.8m, which will be funded using cash from CSCL HK and bank financing.

"The group positively responds to the development trend for large-scale container vessels in the shipping market, adheres to low-carbon environmental protection initiatives and is committed to adjusting and optimizing the structure of its fleet," CSCL said in an exchange filing.

"The vessel acquisition will further help optimize the group's fleet structure, increase shipment scale, and enhance the group's comprehensive competitiveness. According to the internal estimation and calculation, the vessel acquisition provides certain risk-resistance and is economically and technologically feasible."