AsiaContainers

Evergreen orders 10 more small containerships

Taiwan’s Evergreen Group has ordered ten more 2,800-teu containerships from the Imabari shipyard in Japan, for delivery over a 12-month period from the first half of 2018.

The B-type vessels come in addition to the ten 2,800-teu vessels ordered in early July from Imabari and CSBC in Taiwan.

No contract price for the two deals has been disclosed, but each vessel is to cost at least $36m, making the two deals worth at least $720m altogether, Evergreen said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

All 20 newbuildings, first predicted by Splash back in May, will be employed in the intra-Asia trade, which Evergreen expects to pick up once the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade agreement comes into effect in southeast Asia.

“With the RCEP expecting to take effect, the trade barriers between ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] members and China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia and India will fall off,” Bronson Hsieh, vice-chairman of the Evergreen group, said on signing the first 10-vessel order in July.

The B-type vessels will be 211 metres long, 32.8 metres wide, with design draft of 10 metres. The vessels will be able to carry 13 rows containers on deck, which is within the span of existing gantry cranes in the major ports on the intra-Asia trade.

The vessels are designed to sail at speeds of up to 21.8 knots, which Evergreen said will enhance “their on-time performance and competitiveness”.

“Vessels operating on regional trades, such as intra-Asia, often sail in coastal areas. With frequent port calls, these ships operate in close proximity to human activity and the living environment. To reduce their impact on port communities and eco-systems, Evergreen has imposed stringent eco-friendly criteria on their operation,” the company said.

“The ships are also to be equipped with an electronic-controlled fuel injection engine, which meets the IMO Tier II standards for NOx emission and the requirements of Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), and can reduce emissions by around 20% in comparison with vessels of traditional designs.”

Holly Birkett

Holly is Splash's Online Editor and correspondent for the UK and Mediterranean. She has been a maritime journalist since 2010, and has written for and edited several trade publications. She is currently studying for membership of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers. In 2013, Holly won the Seahorse Club's Social Media Journalist of the Year award. She is currently based in London.
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