MOL to add six 20,000 TEU box ships

MARCH 2, 2015 — The move to giant containerships continues — and so does the trend to LNG fueling. Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) is to add six 20,000 TEU box ships to its fleet and notes that the main engines “have the specifications that enable LNG use as fuel in a future remodeling.”

MOL has signed a construction contract for four of the ships with South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries and has concluded an MOU for long-term chartering of the other two with Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., which will build them at its associated Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.

Imabari recently reported that it is adding a 600 m x 80 m building dock to its Marugame shipyard to meet the demand for giant containerships (see earlier report).

All six vessels will be launched and delivered in 2017, and will serve the Asia-Europe service. They will each have a length of 400 m, breadth of 58.8 m, design draft of 14.5 m and loaded draft of 16 m. Nominal TEU capacity will be 20,150 TEU. The main engine will be a MAN B&W G95ME.