The first of the series, Maersk Conakry, was named at a ceremony Monday in Ulsan, Korea, where it and the other ships are being built by Hyundai Heavy Industries. Conakry is the capital of Guinea.
The ships will be 250 meters long with a draft of 13.5 meters, which Maersk said is the maximum size allowable in West African ports. Some of the vessels will be equipped with onboard cranes to enable calls at ports without ship to shore cranes.
Maersk said the 4,500-TEU ships will use 30 percent less fuel per container moved than the industry average on the Asia/Africa trade.
