Maersk Line signed a new building order with COSCO Shipyard Co., Ltd in Zhoushan China. The order is for seven (7) 3,600 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent) container vessels. The vessels will have a length of 200 meters (m), width of 35.2m, and a 10m draft. COSCO Shipyard and Maersk Line have agreed to keep the price confidential.
The order is the first step in the investment programme announced by Maersk Line. Over the next five years USD 15 billion will go into vessel new building, retrofit programme, containers and other equipment. Hereby, Maersk Line will be able to add capacity in line with growth in global container shipping demand as well as replace less efficient chartered tonnage.
“I am very happy to announce this new order and the first in our investment programme. Our strategy is to grow with the market and to do so we need new vessels from 2017,” says Søren Toft, COO in Maersk Line. “We expect to place additional orders during 2015.”
Maersk Line has ordered the vessels for Seago Line, its fully-owned container shipping line dedicated to short-sea services in Europe and throughout the Mediterranean region.