Yang Ming entered into charter agreements with Shoei Kisen Kaisha for five 11,000 TEU containerships and with Costamare for another five 12,000 TEU containerships.
All the ten chartered container ships will be newbuilds, due to be delivered from the second quarter of 2020 through the third quarter of 2021. Chartering the newbuilds is aimed to improve daily service operations as well as for long-term development and fleet modernization.
The chartered newbuilds will emit less carbon, use fuel oil containing limited sulphur, and will be equipped with a more efficient ballast water treatment system. The design of these new ships will be based on the twin-island concept to accommodate more containers by increasing navigational visibility as well as the permissible height of container stacks on deck. The ships’ length and beam are shorter than 20,000-TEU, making it easier to manoeuvre during berthing or departure. With the new dimensions, the ships are subject to no restriction from main calling ports worldwide, are able to pass through new Panama Canal.
Yang Ming currently operates a fleet of 106 containerships with a capacity above 600,000 TEU. It has an ongoing fleet renewal programme to replace older ships upon the expiry of their charter agreements and further review the old, high-fuel-consumption, non-eco fleet. With the new containerships, Yang Ming will significantly optimize its fleet efficiency, enhance its competitiveness, and continue to provide its quality services.
Source: Yang Ming
