EVERGREEN AMENDS VESSEL ORDERS

   Taiwan’s Evergreen group said that the first of its new 6,046-TEU containerships will effectively replace the last in a series of 5,364-TEU ships already ordered from the Mitsubishi shipyard.
    Evergreen recently announced an order for five 6,046-TEU "K-type" vessels due to be delivered in 2001 and 2002.
    Evergreen had previously ordered 18 "U-type" vessels of 5,364- TEU, 10 of which have been delivered, but the order has effectively been changed to 17 ships of this type.
    Of the U-type series, another ship will be delivered by the end of the year, five more will be delivered next year and the 17th will be delivered in 2001.
    The 6,046-TEU and 5,364-TEU ships are too wide to transit the Panama canal, unlike other vessels in the Evergreen fleet.
    By the end of 2002, the largest containerships in the Evergreen fleet will be five 6,046-TEU vessels, 17 of 5,364-TEU, 10 of 4,211-TEU and 10 of 4,173-TEU.