Evergreen Group (長榮集團) yesterday said it planned to charter 11 new vessels with capacities of 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) for the use of Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) and its subsidiaries, aiming to upgrade its fleet to lower unit costs.
Evergreen Marine, the nation’s largest container shipper in terms of fleet size, is scheduled to take delivery of the 11 ships from 2018 through 2019, the company said in a statement.
The group has signed a charter agreement with Japan’s Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, with the 11 chartered vessels including the six announced by Evergreen Marine in December last year.
“The group has taken this investment decision to introduce 18,000-TEU vessels based on market demand and the capacity requirement for joint service,” the statement said.
Current service cooperation arrangements with its alliance partners will enable Evergreen Marine to efficiently utilize the capacity and garner the potential economic benefits represented by larger vessels, the company added.
The new ships’ main engine is developed with a longer stroke to operate at lower speeds capable of reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emission up to 7 percent more than traditional main engines, which might help lower the company’s unit cost.
Evergreen Marine’s move is part of its fleet renewal plan, along with the ongoing delivery of its own 30 8,500-TEU L-type vessels, a program beginning in July 2012 that is due to be completed this year.
In addition, Evergreen Marine has already taken delivery of five 8,800-TEU and 10 13,800-TEU chartered ships, with another 10 chartered 14,000-TEU units to be delivered from next year through 2017.
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