‘K’ Line doubles down on car carrier order

   The Japanese shipping company “K” Line said it has decided to double the number of next-generation car carrier vessels it is ordering.
   In September, the company said it was ordering two ships each from Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co., Ltd, and Japan Marine United Corporation.
   This week, “K” Line said it would have each of the two shipyards build it four ships, with delivery starting in 2015 and continuing through the first quarter of 2017.
   The eight ships are notable because their beam — which “K” Line said would be about 37 to 38 meters — would prevent them from passing  through the current locks of the Panama Canal, though they will be able to use the new set of locks being added to the Panama Canal, which will have a width of 55 meters.
   “By adding this series of eight new ships with better stability of the vessel and better fuel efficiency, we continue to deliver value-added efficiency and capability of handling an even wider variety of cargo mix to assure our services successfully meet the needs of our valued customers in order to be best suited for not only passenger cars but also other roro cargoes,” said “K” Line in a press release.
   The capacity of the ships will be about 7,500 units, compared to the 6,200 units on its existing large pure car carriers, said “K” Line.