Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS), the Singapore-based company owned by Idan Ofer, has signed contracts with Japan's Imabari Shipbuilding for two 9,000-TEU and two 6,000-TEU container ships, market sources say. The order is valued at approximately $360 million, with deliveries expected to begin in 2030. The contract marks EPS's first container ship order at a Japanese yard in four years. Its previous Japanese order, placed with Imabari in the first half of 2022 for four 5,920-TEU vessels, was delivered in 2024 and the ships are now operating under long-term charters. Since then, the vast majority of EPS newbuilds across container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, car carriers and gas carriers have gone to Chinese yards, including groups under China State Shipbuilding Corporation, China Merchants Industry, Hengli Heavy Industries, New Times Shipbuilding, and Mawei/Xiamen Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, with South Korean and Japanese yards securing only limited gas carrier and bulk carrier orders. With the latest order, EPS's container ship orderbook has grown to 64 vessels worth more than $5.5 billion, around 60 of which are under construction in China. Brokers say the shift to Japan reflects booked-out delivery slots at Chinese and South Korean yards through 2028–2029, as well as South Korean builders such as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean prioritising LNG carriers and ultra-large container ships. Imabari's own orderbook stands at 81 vessels totalling 4.06 million deadweight tons, filling capacity through 2030, prompting some brokers to describe EPS's latest investment as speculative.