Evergreen denies massive shipbuilding plan

Evergreen denies massive shipbuilding plan Taiwanese container carrier Evergreen Line denied reports it is planning a shipbuilding spree.

Yung-fa

   Newspapers in Taiwan and the mainland had reported Evergreen Chairman Chang Yung-fa had hinted that the carrier may order as many as 100 ships by 2012 to replace aging vessels.
   But Evergreen spokesperson Barbara Yeninas said the company has issued a denial of the report that any such remarks were made at an annual employee meeting.
   She noted Evergreen has said it may, at some future date, order ships when steel prices come down and when new ships are needed, but has also vowed it would not overtonnage the market.

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   According to a report last week from Dutch maritime consultant Dynamar, Evergreen is the only carrier among the world’s top 20 to have no ships on order. Evergreen’s current fleet of 174 ships (of which it owns 100), places it fourth in terms of capacity, after Maersk Line, Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM. All of those carriers have huge amounts of capacity on order. But, perhaps more significantly, as many as four carriers (COSCO, China Shipping, APL and Hanjin) could pass Evergreen in the coming years based on the number of vessels they have on order.