This file photo provided by Samsung Heavy shows a container carrier. (Samsung Heavy)

Samsung Heavy Industries Co., the world's third-biggest shipbuilder by order backlog, said Friday it has received a 609 billion-won ($494 million) container ship order in Europe.

Samsung Heavy obtained the order to build four liquefied natural gas-powered container carriers from an unidentified European shipper by 2024, the company said in a statement.

With this latest order, Samsung Heavy has already achieved $1.3 billion, or 15 percent, of its order target of $8.8 billion this year.

In 2021, the company bagged $12.2 billion worth of orders, far exceeding its target of $9.1 billion. (Yonhap)