Kuwait’s UASC will take on nine new container vessels each with a capacity of 13,100 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs). The ships will be built by South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries and will be delivered from October 2010. UASC currently has a fleet of 44 ships.

Abu Dhabi-based Al-Jaber group has placed its order with Jiangsu Hangtong Ship Heavy Industry of China. The first vessel is to be delivered in October 2010, with a new ship arriving every four months after that.

The new arrivals will raise Al-Jaber’s deadweight capacity to 651,800 tonnes. The company currently has 38 ships including oil tankers, bitumen carriers and landing craft. The ships will be rented on a charter basis to global shipping companies.