SITC said in a stock market announcement that it has exercised options to build four more 1,800-teu container ships at Taiwan's CSBC Corporation for a total sum of $92m.

The newbuildings will be funded by a combination of internal resources and/or external funding, SITC said. Deliveries are scheduled for May and July 2015 and January and March 2016.

"The new construction will enable the company to expand its self-owned fleet of container vessels to meet the increase in demand for the company’s services," SITC said in explaining its rationale for the additions to its fleet.