COSCO ship orders break 10,000-TEU barrier

COSCO ship orders break 10,000-TEU barrier    COSCO has ordered the first containerships of 10,000-TEU capacity under a contract for four such “ultra-large containerships” signed with the Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries.
   Hyundai Heavy Industries hailed the order Saturday, saying these are the largest containerships to be built in the world.
   The biggest boxships on order until now have been eight 9,200-TEU vessels ordered by China Shipping Container Lines from the shipbuilder Samsung, also based in Korea, and due for delivery in 2006 and 2007.
   Hyundai Heavy Industries said its 10,000-TEU ships are expected to be delivered in 2008, and that it has completed designs for 12,000-TEU containerships. Meanwhile, rival Samsung said recently it has already completed performance tests for 12,000-TEU containerships. The third major shipyard involved in the battle for the construction of the largest containerships is the A.P. Moller-Maersk group's Lindo shipyard. The Danish group is rumored to be building much larger vessels than the previous series of 8,000-TEU-type “S-class” vessels.
   The 10,000-TEU COSCO vessels will have a length of 349 meters (1,145 feet), similar to Maersk Sealand's 352-meter (1,155-foot) “A-class” ships. However, the future COSCO ships will deviate from current standards with their bigger width of 45.6 meters (150 feet), suitable to carry 18 containers across on deck, as compared to the 140-foot width (17-container-wide) common among 8,000-TEU-type containerships.
   The COSCO ships will therefore be 13.3 meters (44 feet) wider than the maximum beam of vessels allowed to transit the Panama Canal.
   “K” Line has already ordered 18-container-wide containerships, but with a capacity of 8,000 TEUs, for the Asia/Europe trade.
   Hyundai Heavy Industries said each ship will be fitted with a 94,000-horsepower engine for a service speed of 25.8 knots.
   “Shipowners want bigger and speedier containerships to remain competitive in ' today’s ever-changing containership market,” Hyundai Heavy Industries said. “To meet this market trend, Hyundai Heavy Industries has already completed the design development of a 12,000 TEU-containership, and will readily take it on the market upon demand.”