London: Hamburg-based container carrier Hapag-Lloyd has placed an order for five new 10,500-teu containerships at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, South Korea.
The vessels will be delivered between October 2016 and May 2017 and will be employed mainly in the South American trades, the carrier said today.
Each vessel will be installed with plugs for 2,100 reefer containers to aid the transport of perishables such as food and pharmaceuticals.
The ships will also be equipped with a highly efficient main engine, an optimised hull shape and an innovative lashing and loading system for greater loading flexibility.
“This order for five vessels underlines Hapag-Lloyd’s leading role in the Latin American trade. Following our successful merger with CSAV, we are one of the market leaders in this attractive trade and offer our customers a variety of excellent connections to and from South America,” Anthony J Firmin, COO of Hapag-Lloyd, said in a statement today.
Hapag-Lloyd says the new vessels will give it the “optimal fleet” for trading through the expanded Panama Canal when it opens in 2016.
