CSAV orders as many as six 8,000-TEU ships

CSAV orders as many as six 8,000-TEU ships    Chilean liner carrier CSAV said Monday it has ordered as many as six 8,000-TEU vessels from South Korea's Samsung Heavy Industries.
   CSAV has placed a firm order for two vessels, with an option for four more, with the first two vessels to be delivered in June and July 2012. CSAV already has five other 8,000-TEU vessels on order with Samsung, due to be delivered in 2011 and 2012.
   The line has shot up the list of the world's largest ocean carriers this year, mostly on the strength of chartered capacity (it's the seventh-largest by TEU capacity, according to maritime news service Alphaliner). CSAV's ratio of owned-to-chartered capacity (8.8 percent owned to 91.8 percent chartered is by far the lowest of any of the world's top 20 lines.
   Additionally, prior to the order announcement, it had the second-lowest percentage of capacity on order relative to its existing fleet (only NYK Container Line has less capacity on order).
   The two firm orders for 8,000-TEU ships would push that ratio from 10.7 percent currently to about 13.5 percent. If the order options for the other four vessels are used, that ratio would rise to about 19 percent, roughly on par with half of the world's top 20 lines.
   The new order, if all six vessels are delivered, would constitute roughly 48,000 TEUs, nearly equal to CSAV's current owned capacity of 51,000 TEUs.
   Francis Phillips of American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data wrote about CSAV's expansion in a September commentary. ' Eric Johnson