Evergreen adds more 18,000 TEU box ships

Mr. Anchor Chang, Chairman of Evergreen Marine Corporation (left) and Mr. Yukito Higaki, President of Shoei Kisen Kaisha (and of Imabari Shipbuilding)

JANUARY 28, 20015 — As the trend to ever larger containerships continues, with TEU capacities that would recently have been record setting now becoming the norm, Evergreen Group today signed time charter agreements with Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (Shoei) to charter a total of eleven 18,000 TEU vessels. They include six units of the same capacity that Taiwan-headquartered Evergreen had already disclosed it was adding.

The charter parties were signed by Evergreen Marine Corporation’s Chairman Mr. Anchor Chang and Shoei’s President Mr. Yukito Higaki. The ships are planned to be delivered from 2018 through 2019. According to reports, the ships will be built at Shoei’s affiliate Imabari Shipbuilding. Mr. Yukito Higaki is also President of that company. 

Evergreen says the new generation ultra-large containerships will be 400 meters in length and about 59 meters wide. The design incorporates optimized hull profiles and minimum ballast water requirements to maximize cargo-carrying capability and the vessels are designed to have a larger depth to strengthen hull structure and navigation safety. 

In line with the stringent eco-friendly criteria that Evergreen has imposed on its own operations, the ships are equipped with an array of environmental protection devices and fully comply with the regulations of international maritime agencies.

Ship-to-shore real time data transmission system will enable shoreside operational departments to monitor navigation statistics and weather conditions, analyze the data and take timely action for speed optimization and route planning at sea thus lowering fuel consumption and enhancing navigation safety.

The ships’ new generation longer stroke, lower speed G-type main engines will provide a reduction in fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of up to 7% compared with traditional main engines. 

Evergreen has taken this investment decision to introduce 18,000 TEU vessels based on market demand and the capacity requirement for joint service. Current service cooperation arrangements with its alliance partners will, says Evergreen, enable it to efficiently utilize the capacity and garner the potential economic benefits represented by larger vessels.

Along with the ongoing delivery of its own thirty 8,500 TEU L type vessels, a program which began in July 2012 and is due to be completed this year, Evergreen has already taken delivery of five 8,800 TEU and ten 13,800 TEU chartered ships with another ten chartered units of 14,000 TEU to be delivered in 2016-2017.  With the delivery of these, in total, sixty-six ships within the medium to ultra-large size range, the carrier plans to redeliver currently chartered vessels upon expiry of their charter periods.