Big China Shipping order for 10,000-TEU vessels

   The liner carrier China Shipping Container Line said Thursday that it will spend up to $1.1 billion on a series of as many as 12 10,000-TEU containerships to be built by two Chinese shipyards.
   The order is for four ships each with Hudong Zhongshua Shipbuilding Co. and Dalian Shipbuilding Heavy Industries Co., with an option for two more ships from each builder.
   The line did not disclose the delivery schedule of the ships, saying it would release further details of the deals once signed.
   The ships most likely be sent to the Asia-Europe trade, a lane already beset by overcapacity that’s driving down rates. They wouldn’t be the largest ships in China Shipping’s fleet – the Shanghai-based line is halfway through an eight-ship order of 14,000-TEU vessels.