Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. (KSOE) said Friday it has clinched a 637 billion-won ($562 million) order from a Taiwanese company to build five container carriers.

The deal signed with Wan Hai Lines calls for Korea Shipbuilding to start delivering the 13,200-twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels in the first half of 2023, Korea Shipbuilding said in a regulatory filing.

The container carriers will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the company said.

Hopes for a rise in freight traffic and increased shipping rates have led to a spate of orders for container carriers, the company said.

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), a barometer of global freight rates, came to 2,584 points on March 19, up nearly three times compared with 898 a year ago. The index reached its highest number of 2,885 on Jan. 15 since 2009.

Korea Shipbuilding has three shipbuilding units -- Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co. and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. (Yonhap)