Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has terminated contracts for three very large container ships ordered by Israeli line ZIM.

The contracts date back to 2007, when Zim ordered eight 12,500 teu vessels at the Korean yard for $1.4bn, making a $51m deposit. Zim has struggled to secure financing for the vessels since the order was made and the global financial crisis took hold in 2008.

Five ships from the same order, totalling $849m were cancelled in March 2013, at which time the remaining vessels were delayed until 2016.

Last month, Israel Corp announced it would relinquish control of ZIM as part of a restructuring deal to tackle with the carrier's debt problems. The deal paves the way for an IPO of the company once the restructuring is complete.