The Evergreen Group, Taiwan's largest container shipper, has signed an agreement with Japan's Imabari Shipbuilding Co. to build 10 new container vessels with a capacity of 2,800 20-foot equivalent units (TEU) to expand its fleet.
The new shipbuilding plan is the second time in the past month that the shipping company has decided to add 2,800-TEU container ships to its fleet. In August, Evergreen signed an agreement with Taiwanese shipbuilder China Shipbuilding Corp. (CSBC) for 10 new vessels with a capacity of 2,800 TEUs each.
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.
As with the 10 ships to be delivered by CSBC, the additional 10 from Japanese shipbuilder Imabari will be assigned to the shipper's intra-Asia shipping business in the future.
The 20 new ships, all categorized as "B" type vessels in Evergreen's fleet, will be 211 meters in length and 32.8 meters wide and have a design draft of 10 meters, allowing them to dock in the relatively small and shallow terminals found in many Southeast Asian ports.
With a hull design that is wider in comparison to other ships of a similar capacity, Evergreen said they will be able to navigate in the shallower ports encountered in the intra-Asia trade and thereby enhance their cargo carrying capability.
Evergreen Group's Second Vice Group Chairman Bronson Hsieh said, "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."
Evergreen's B-type vessels will be 211 meters in length, 32.8 meters wide, and have a design draft of 10 meters with a capacity of about 2,800 TEU. 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.