Samsung Heavy Industries Co. said Tuesday it has signed a 529 billion-won ($477 million) deal with an Asian company to construct four container carriers.

The 13,000 twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) container carriers will be delivered to the Asian company by February 2024, Samsung Heavy said in a regulatory filing.

With the latest deal, Samsung Heavy has achieved 65 percent of its annual target of $9.1 billion, by winning orders worth $5.9 billion for 48 ships, the company said.

As new orders for ships have risen at a rapid pace this year, prices of new ships have been on the increase, the shipbuilder said.

According to data by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service, the Newbuilding Price Index, indicating price changes in newly built ships, was 136.1 points at the end of May from 125 points in November, hitting the highest level since December 2014, when it reached 137.8 points. (Yonhap)