As previously announced by World Maritime News, Taiwan’s Evergreen Group, the parent company of Evergreen Line, has signed an agreement with compatriot CSBC Corporation to build ten 2,800 TEU, class B-type feeder ships.
Evergreen did not reveal the value of the contract, but it is speculated that the price tag for these ten feeders could be around USD 400 million.
The first ship is planned to be delivered during the second half of 2017 with the completion of the series due by the first half of 2018. The vessels are planned to be deployed in the intra-Asia trade.
The boxships will be 211 meters in length, 32.8 meters wide, and have a design draft of 10 meters. The ships are designed to load 13 rows of containers on deck, which is within the span of existing gantry cranes in the major ports of intra-Asian trade. The hull design of the vessels is wider in comparison to ships of a similar capacity. Such design enables the ships to navigate in shallower ports encountered in the intra-Asia trade and to enhance their cargo carrying capability.
The ten ships will be equipped with CSBC’s Sea-Sword Bow (SSB) technology. This energy-saving device enables the ships to maintain optimum performance in various navigational conditions and to reduce fuel consumption by around 10% compared to traditional bow designs, according to Evrergreen.
The ships will also be equipped with an electronic-controlled fuel injection engine, which meets the IMO Tier II standards for NOx emission and can reduce the emissions by around 20%. In line with IMO’s requirements of Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), the ships can cruise at a speeds up to 21.8 knots.
”After the negotiations of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) are concluded, the ASEAN countries, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand are expected to remove trade barriers, enhancing bilateral trades and thereby boosting regional cargo growth. Our decision to invest in these newbuildings is aimed at providing for the growth potential brought about by this free trade development,” Bronson Hsieh, Evergreen Group’s Second Vice Group Chairman, said.