CP SHIPS TAKES DELIVERY OF ?LYKES RANGER?

CP SHIPS TAKES DELIVERY OF ôLYKES RANGERö    CP Ships Ltd. has taken delivery of the 3,200-TEU 'Lykes Ranger,' the first in a series of geared containerships being built under an $800-million ship replacement program.
   The 'Lykes Ranger,' built by China Shipbuilding Corp. in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, entered service June 20 in Hong Kong. It is being deployed in the Asia/Americas trade, where CP Ships has two twice-weekly services under the Lykes Lines and TMM Lines brands. It replaces the 3,000-TEU 'Hyundai Pioneer,' which had been deployed on a short-term charter basis.
   CP Ships plans to add nine new ships, one second-hand ship and six long-term charters to its fleet by 2003. This will increase the long-term committed fleet to more than 70 percent of total capacity, from about 30 percent when the program started in 2000.
   CP Ships operates in 24 trade lanes under the brand names ANZDL, Canada Maritime, Cast, Contship Containerlines, Lykes Lines and TMM Lines.